What's Next?
by shygirl1
Summary: AU. Max and Zack and the other transgenics start to move on with their lives. MZ. Sequel to All of Us. COMPLETE!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Here it is! At this point in time, I don't plan on having too much ass-kicking type action in this fic, but I guess that could change. This starts a few days after the end of "All of Us." I hope you like it!

"I brought in the paper," Biggs said cheerfully as he joined some of the others as they sat at a large table in the cafeteria. He handed it over to Max and Zack. "Front page on the bottom. Not the biggest headline. The Familiars or I guess I should say ex-Familiars they're arresting are still getting the big headlines."

"Thanks," Max said. "'Young Girl Found. Ten-year-old Jennifer Nelson, daughter of Colonel Caroline Robinson, a member of the military force outside of Terminal City, was found unharmed in downtown Seattle early yesterday morning. Ms. Nelson had been missing and feared dead since the shooting that had occurred at the party of a friend of Ms. Nelson's a few days ago, of which Ms. Nelson had been in attendance. Colonel Robinson has expressed her gratitude to the Seattle P.D. for their efforts in finding her daughter. Ms. Nelson's father, Colonel Patrick Nelson, is currently not in the country and we have been unable to reach him for any comments.'"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Expressed her gratitude to the police, that's a load of crap. Dennis told me how she ranted about them not doing squat to find Jenny."

"I'm glad that she's home again," Jondy said. "Not that I minded occasionally baby-sitting her at the safehouse. She's a pretty smart kid."

"She is," Becky agreed.

"Definitely," Zack said. He finished his cereal and picked up his tray and gave Max a quick kiss on the cheek. "I've got work to do. I'll see you at the apartment later, okay, Maxie?"

"Sure," Max said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Zack said. He left the cafeteria.

"Awwww," Jondy said.

"Very funny," Max said. "You're just jealous because Wayne drew a morning shift in the med bay for today and he's not here to practically make out with you over your oatmeal."

"Yeah, whatever," Jondy said.

"I just call them like I see them," Max said. She finished her breakfast and stood up. "I'm gonna blaze. I'll catch you guys later, okay?"

"Sure," the others said.

Max waved to them and put her tray and dishes away and walked outside, smiling to herself. _It's such a nice day outside. It's weird, it seems as if everyday since White went down has been nice. I guess that's what happens when you get that kind of a load lifted off of your shoulders. Damn, it's a good feeling!_

"Hey, Maxie," two identical voices said cheerfully.

"Hey," Max said to Rena and Sasha as she walked up to the two of them. "What's going on with you two? Are you meeting everybody in the cafeteria? I know Biggs is there, but Zane isn't."

"Yeah, Zane's still sleeping," Rena said. "He was on a really late shift on sentry duty last night."

"We both already ate," Sasha said. "I'm going to meet back up with Biggs later this morning after I get the girls from the nursery." She stretched and grinned. "Nothing like the smell of Seattle in the mid-summer morning." She sniffed. "Speaking of smells, you kind of smell, Max."

"Excuse me?" Max said. "Do you want to get your ass kicked this morning?"

"That was nice," Rena remarked. She sniffed. "Though Sasha is right. You smell like something. I'm not sure what, but it's something. It's not very noticeable."

"Yeah, I don't think an ordinary would be able to get a whiff of it at all," Sasha said. "I've been kind of smelling this on you since you and Zack came out from heat-imposed hiding five days ago."

"It was nice of you not to let me know about it then," Max said, though she wasn't as annoyed as she'd been a few moments ago.

"We were busy," Sasha said.

"I'd say that's an understatement," Rena said.

The three of them walked around before Sasha stopped suddenly. Rena stopped a fraction of a second later and turned around and looked at her twin. Sasha barely raised an eyebrow and one of the corners of Rena's mouth twitched. Max rolled her eyes. "Can you stop the twin thing for a moment and fill me in?"

"Sure," Sasha said. She shot Rena another quick look over Max's head and Rena nodded. The three of them just continued to walk around.

"Okay…" Max said. "I'm waiting."

"For what?" Rena said innocently.

"For the two of you to fill me in on whatever joke or whatever," Max said. "Do you two know how annoying it is when you do that?"

"Do what?" Rena and Sasha said together.

"I give up," Max said.

They walked around until they reached the med bay building. "Let's go say hi to Wayne," Rena said.

"Okay," Max said.

They walked inside the building and quickly found Wayne, who grinned when he saw the three of them. "Wow, it's not everyday a man sees a sandwich of beautiful."

Max and Rena and Sasha groaned. "That has to be worse than any line that Sketchy has ever come up with," Max said. "No wonder the two of you got along as well as you did after you got into Seattle."

"Birds of a feather," Wayne agreed. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Rena said, her smile and Sasha's both annoyingly bright. "Zack knocked Max up when Max went into heat almost a week ago."

Max's jaw dropped. "What!"

Sasha shrugged. "I told you before that we could smell it on each other. We were pretty damn preoccupied the last five days so I couldn't exactly place the smell, but I definitely remember what it is now."

"Are you serious?" Wayne said. "I'm going to be an uncle?"

"Yeah," Sasha said. "You should check her out, but she's definitely pregnant."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Max said. "Let's back the truck up here for just a moment. How they hell can I be pregnant?"

"You know the stats, Max," Rena said. "There's a 98 percent chance of getting pregnant when you're in heat and I'm willing to bet that you and Zack weren't thinking about anything at that time, much less about using protection."

"No shit," Max said. She shook her head. "I can't believe it."

"Maybe you'll believe it more after I check you out," Wayne said. "Come on, Maxie." He grinned wickedly. "I promise I'll be gentle." Sure enough, it snapped Max out of her daze and she smacked Wayne across the back of his head and he laughed. "That's the spirit, little sister. Follow me."

"Okay," Max said. She took a deep breath and followed Wayne.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max sipped her bottle of water in a daze and looked around her kitchen. _I'm pregnant. I'm gonna be a mom. This is insane and incredible and wonderful and a miracle and absolutely scary as hell._ She stood up to put the bottle of water back in the refrigerator. _How am I going to tell Zack? How's he going to react?_ She mentally shook her head. _Get a grip, Max. You know your own mate by now. You've had a few conversations over the past year about having children, remember? You know how he's going to feel when you tell him._ She sighed and smiled a little as she remembered some of them.

* * *

"_Good luck resettling Rena," Max said to Zack as he put his jacket on and got his stuff together._

"_Thanks," Zack said. "She's hasn't given me too much trouble since before I moved her down to Texas when she was twelve." He shrugged. "She probably won't be happy when I tell her to go to Montana, though. She likes cities better and prefers to at least be close to one."_

"_Has she ever lived in a small town?" Max said._

"_I don't think so, at least not since the beginning," Zack said. "She was living pretty close to Dallas for those three years that she spent in Texas and she's been living in or close to major cities in the Midwest since then. She thinks small towns are boring."_

"_Like I said, good luck," Max said._

"_Thanks, Max," Zack said._

"_Have fun dealing with the children that are our sibs," Max said._

"_Yeah, it's always a blast," Zack said dryly._

"_Hey, look at it this way. You'll be prepared when we eventually have kids," Max said._

"_When we eventually have kids…" Zack said softly. "Wow. One day, we'll be parents."_

"_Yeah," Max said. "When the time is right." She grinned wickedly. "Have fun out there and get back so we can keep practicing the procreation deal."_

* * *

_Max and Zack snuggled together in their bed. "I can't wait until Zane gets in tomorrow," Max said. "It'll be great."_

"_It'll be a pain-in-the-ass for me trying to keep him and Krit and Wayne from killing each other," Zack groaned. "And when they won't be killing each other, they'll be teaming up to annoy somebody else. Is it just me or does it seem like at least ninety percent of that time, the person that they're teaming up to annoy is me?"_

"_It's just you," Max said._

"_Seriously, I am looking forward to Zane getting in tomorrow," Zack said. "You know how much I am."_

"_I do," Max said._

"_I've missed everybody so much," Zack said. "I know I've been the only one of us to see everybody who made it past the fence since the escape, but I still missed everybody. I might even have missed everybody more than any of us."_

_Max nodded. "You've held yourself back from us since the escape because you wanted to protect us."_

"_I was afraid that if I didn't, I'd get too relaxed and let locations slip," Zack confessed. "Not that I didn't trust any of you, but you know how I am."_

"_I do," Max agreed._

"_I won't be like that again," Zack said. "I'll try my best not to be like that again."_

"_I know," Max said. She smiled. "You start now, then Anthony and Little Max and any other kids that any of us have will only know you as this only semi-hardass. When their aunts and uncles and maybe even their cousin Case tell them that you used to be this complete hardass, they won't believe it."_

"_Very funny, Maxie," Zack said. He looked down for a moment. "Maxie, seriously, about children…I want them. I really do want to have kids one day."_

"_I know you do. I want to have children also," Max said._

"_I'm almost tempted to start trying now," Zack confessed. "But I don't feel right about bringing a baby into the world right now. White's breathing down our necks and we've just been chased here into Terminal City."_

"_I know where you're coming from," Max assured him. "You're doing what you can to protect whatever children we might have in the future. I feel the same way. This isn't the right time for us to have kids."_

"_It scares me how I feel when I think of what could happen if we did have a baby and White was still around and he got a hold of him or her," Zack said. The look in his eyes was so fierce that Max got a little nervous. "You know how I feel when you or Becky or any of our other siblings is in danger, but my own son or daughter…I'm almost scaring myself, Maxie."_

"_Don't worry," Max said. "We won't have kids now and when we do, I won't worry about them being safe because I know how far you'll go to protect them." She kissed Zack. "Relax."_

"_I will, Maxie."_

* * *

Max heard Zack heading down the hall towards their apartment and practically ran into the living room and sat down nervously on the couch and waited for him to get to and inside their apartment. She bit her lip and stood up when he shut the door closed. "Hi."

"Hi, Maxie," Zack said. He looked at her, worried. "Maxie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Max said.

"Max, you're shaking," Zack said. "Why are you shaking?"

"No reason," Max said. "Okay, I do have a reason. I'm pregnant."

Zack blinked. "Maxie?"

"Zack, I'm pregnant," Max said. "Sasha recognized the scent that I've apparently been giving off for the last five days this morning and she and Rena walked with me over to the med bay and told Wayne and Wayne checked me out and I'm definitely pregnant. It was from when I went into heat almost a week ago. Wayne says that I'm fine and as far as he can tell since it's still so early, the baby's fine and I should be due in April since apparently we go nine months like ordinary humans."

Zack was overwhelmed. "Maxie…" He pulled her into his arms, both of them crying silently with happiness. They held each other for several minutes before they pulled apart and it was another few moments before either of them could speak. "Maxie, I'm so happy, I don't know what to say."

"Me too," Max said.

"In nine months, I'm gonna be a dad," Zack said. He looked down at Max's stomach. "I'm going to be a dad and you're going to be a mom."

"Men," Max said, shaking her head and recovering her sass. "They find out they're going to be fathers and they turn into idiots. You have no idea how much I'm hoping that we have a daughter."

Zack grinned. "If it's a daughter who will turn out to be just like her mom, then I'm all for it." He kissed Max tenderly. "I love you, Maxie."

"I love you, Zack," Max said.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to jracklesfan77 for your review and support! It means a lot to me. I hope I satisfied your flashback request. If not, let me know. Thanks again!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I see," Caroline was saying to one of her subordinates the next day. "I think that…" She looked over and saw Dennis gesturing to her. "Excuse me, lieutenant. Keep at it."

"Yes, ma'am," the soldier said. He saluted her and walked away.

Caroline walked over to Dennis. "What's going on?"

"Video conference call right now," Dennis said. He looked serious. "It's the president."

"Is this going to be good or bad?" Caroline wondered quietly as she followed Dennis into one of the tents and sat down next to him at a table in front of a laptop. Dennis typed a few commands and a window popped up showing a webcam view of the Oval Office. "Good morning, Mr. President."

"Good morning, General Murphy, Colonel Robinson," the president said. "How are you both?"

"We're fine, sir," Dennis said.

"I called you to discuss several matters," the president said. "First things first. I will be flying out to Seattle on Air Force One this afternoon to visit the Terminal City site."

"I see, sir," Dennis said. He wasn't sure how to react to that. "Is this a simple visit or is there more to it?"

"There is more to it," the president said. "After many discussions with my advisers concerning the events of the last week, or really of the last year or so, I've decided to open negotiations with the transgenics and officially bring them into the general population."

Dennis and Caroline managed to hide grins. "That's tremendous, sir," Caroline said. "How are these negotiations going to work? Are they going to start after you get into the city or do you need either General Murphy or myself to open the negotiations for you?"

"If you would let the transgenics know that I will be arriving and would like to open negotiations with them, that would be helpful," the president said. "Do you believe they will be receptive to the idea?"

"I haven't heard anything that would indicate the contrary, sir," Dennis said. "They haven't made any moves against the units stationed here and their actions in uncovering the plot involving Ames White and his cohorts indicate to me that they are on the same side as us. I think that they will welcome the idea of negotiations."

"Good," the president said.

"Is there anything else, sir?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, there is," the president said. "It concerns the two of you."

"What is it, sir?" Dennis asked.

"We've managed to uncover a pretty good amount of information concerning Manticore, as both of you are aware of," the president said. "It's a pretty fair amount of information considering that the database was destroyed in the fire. We recently uncovered some information that was for some reason locked in both of your files. It was covered in quite a bit of security."

Caroline managed to put a curious look on her face, though she was extremely nervous. "What is this information, sir?"

"You two were both recruited while you were both attending West Point to donate reproductive cells for a medical research project in Casper, Wyoming, correct?" the president said.

"Yes," Dennis said. "I was approached by one of my weapons instructors about the opportunity. I did need the money so I agreed to it."

"I was approached by an old family friend," Caroline said. "He was in charge of the military units that guarded the facility and he knew I needed money, so he asked me to make a donation. I was told it was to test a medication that promoted cell regeneration."

The president nodded. "That research facility was a front for Manticore. Both of your donations went straight there."

Dennis and Caroline feigned shock. "You're kidding me," Dennis said. "We…donated to Manticore?"

"You did," the president said. "Not only that, but according to the information that was unlocked, your donations were used to create soldiers 330417291599 and 330768235405, otherwise known by their designations X5-599 and X6-405. They have known aliases, as I recall."

"Zack and Becky," Caroline said. "You're telling us that they are our son and daughter?"

"Genetically, yes," the president said. "This information will most likely get out to the press. I want both of you to be prepared for it."

"Thank you, sir," Dennis said.

The president smiled. "I've known you for several years, General. I've always had the greatest respect for you and your work. I wanted to give you this courtesy."

"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it," Dennis said.

"About you, Colonel Robinson," the president said.

"Yes, sir," Caroline said.

"We've uncovered some other information in your file as well," the president said. "You were in a car accident on February 25th, 2013, correct? Among other injuries, you sustained massive head trauma that left you in a coma for four months and resulted in partial amnesia."

"That's right, sir," Caroline said. "To this day, I still can't remember anything from the month before the accident." _I've had so much practice with that lie, I can say it in my sleep!_

"Colonel Robinson, the accident wasn't an accident. It was a hit ordered by Colonel Donald Lydecker, the then head of Project Manticore, on you," the president said.

Caroline faked complete shock. "Wait a second, Donald Lydecker? I've known the guy my whole life! I never totally liked him, but he was my oldest brother's best friend and he wouldn't do something like that to me. He respects my brother's memory too much to do something like that."

"Apparently, you accidentally discovered some files on Manticore that belonged to your ex-husband, who was also a part of the project until its end," the president said. "You had discovered the existence of…X5-599 and Colonels Lydecker and Nelson were worried that you would discover X6-405's existence and possibly try to recover her from Manticore."

"I would have," Caroline said softly. "That sounds like something that I would do."

"Does this have any impact on our positions here, sir?" Dennis asked.

"No," the president said. "You will both remain at your current positions. Like I said, General Murphy, I respect your work and I know that you will continue to do fine work even under these circumstances. Yours and Colonel Robinson's handling of the Terminal City situation has been absolutely exemplary so far and I see no reason that it will continue at any less quality."

"Absolutely, sir," Dennis said. "When do you want me to talk to the transgenics about negotiations?"

"This afternoon, if it's possible," the president said. "Work out a time and place with the transgenics, preferably sometime tomorrow afternoon. I'll be arriving at the Terminal City site around eight tomorrow morning local time to tour the area."

"Very well, sir," Dennis said. "We look forward to seeing you then."

"So do I, General Murphy," the president said. "I'll be seeing you then. General Murphy, Colonel Robinson, thank you for your time." He nodded and then the connection was disconnected.

Dennis closed the laptop and turned to Caroline. "This is it."

"Yeah," Caroline said. "It'll be out in the open soon." She smiled nervously. "I hope my family takes it well. I know that Jenny will be fine with it because she likes Zack and Becky and she'll be happy that she's related to the two of them, but I don't know how my dad or Danny or Pete will react to this news."

"I guess we'll find out when we find out," Dennis said. "Speaking of the kids, we should give them the heads up on this."

"Right," Caroline said. "Do you want to call them or should I?"

"You can call them," Dennis said. He smiled. "It's your turn." They both laughed.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to TARZO, angelofdarkness78, willow98002, HoneyX5-452, and jracklesfan77 for their reviews and support! jracklesfan77, I think this fic will have at least a little bit of everything except maybe serious action. There will be a lot of characters that will be returning from either the show or from previous fics in this series and most of them will have at least some impact. You're right, Zack never struck me as a complete hard-ass in the show. He was that perfect mix of hard-ass and vulnerable and absolutely gorgeous that made me (and still makes me when I watch my DA DVDs!) go crazy! I'm glad everybody likes this so much and I'll try to update this again soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters who appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max looked at the business suit that she was wearing and rolled her eyes. "I hate this stupid thing. Why can't I just wear my catsuit and vest?"

"Because it's a meeting with the President of the United States," Jondy said as if Max was a two-year-old. "You can't dress like a burglar when you meet the president. It doesn't matter if that's your primary occupation or not."

"Very funny," Max said. "I don't know why neither Zack nor Becky have to dress up like this."

"Because we're special," Becky deadpanned.

"Don't worry, that suit is cute as hell," Jondy said.

"Yeah, it is," Max admitted. She looked at her watch. "Our security group is in place so I guess we should be getting going." She turned to Zack and Becky. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah, I'm all set," Becky said.

"I'm ready," Zack said. He gave Max a quick kiss. "Let's go."

"Okay," Max said. They walked over to the tunnel entrance and went inside and walked through the tunnel until they got to the other entrance at the safehouse and exited the tunnel. They walked into a back room and sat down at a table. "Come on, come on…"

"They'll be here in the next five minutes," Becky said.

"Can you blame me for being nervous?" Max said. "An actual normal life is in our grasp. Not just for the three of us, but for all the transgenics." She shrugged. "Hell, I even want to go back to Jam Pony. Not necessarily to deliver packages again, but to see everyone again." She smirked. "And to see the look on Normal's face. O.C. said that he was speechless for a good fifteen minutes after he found out on the news that we were transgenic."

Zack and Becky both snickered. "Yeah, that must have been a shock," Zack remarked. The three of them suddenly turned their heads towards the front of the safehouse. "They're here. One jeep leading one limo, I guess that's Dennis and Caroline in the jeep and the president in the limo, and other vehicles I guess for Secret Service agents and other security personnel."

Max put a hand to the earpiece that she was wearing. "Security group, report in."

"Standard security from them," Alec reported. "No sign of anything out of the ordinary."

"Good," Max said. She turned the earpiece off and turned to Becky. "Becky, would you like to answer the door?"

"Sure," Becky said. She walked through the safehouse and over to the front door and opened it and nodded to her parents. "General Murphy, Colonel Robinson, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." She saw the president standing just behind Dennis and Caroline and straightened to attention and swore to herself at the habit. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. President." She stepped aside so that the three of them plus two Secret Service agents could come in.

"You must be X6-405," the president said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady."

"Thank you, sir," Becky said. She led them over to the room where Max and Zack were waiting and went inside and sat back down on Max's right. The president sat down at the other end of the table and Dennis and Caroline sat to either side of him with Dennis sitting next to Zack and Caroline sitting next to Becky. The two Secret Service agents stood behind the president.

"First, 452, I want to thank you and all of the other transgenics for uncovering the actions of Mr. White and his cohorts," the president said. "Hundreds of millions of lives here and billions abroad would have been lost if it wasn't for what you did."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Max said. "I prefer to be called Max. If you want to be formal, and I can imagine that you would be, you can call me Ms. Guevara."

"If that's what you want then I have no problems with it," the president said. "Why don't you give out your terms first?"

"Sure," Max said. "We want full U.S. citizenship for all transgenics, regardless of whether they are X-series or anomalies or what. We want all rights that come with citizenship. Those who are old enough get to vote. We can apply for any job that we are qualified for. We can pretty much take on any job, but some of us have specializations. For example, a field med can become a doctor and work at a hospital. All transgenics were trained in how to drive a car at the age of eight and so we want all transgenics at the legal driving age, which I believe is sixteen, or older to be given licenses. As far as the X-series are concerned, we would like all underage X-series that are at least fourteen years of age which would mean the members of the X6 generation that are between fourteen and seventeen years of age to be legally declared as adults and thus be able to live on their own and obtain jobs. The X7 generation are thirteen years of age but they function differently and the next generation down from them, the X8 generation, only range in age from seven to eleven years of age. We would like some kind of arrangement to be worked out concerning them and the X9 generation, the oldest members of which are only five years old. The generations that were classified as X10, X11, and X12 are the children that resulted from the breeding program that Manticore instituted and they as well as any other children of transgenics born before or after the destruction of Manticore will be given these rights also."

The president nodded thoughtfully. "I see." They continued to talk for several hours before the president finally stood up from his chair. "I think that we have come to a good stopping point, Ms. Guevara. We will continue these negotiations tomorrow."

"Absolutely," Max said. "Will the same time be okay for you, Mr. President?"

"It will be," the president said. "I will see you then. General Murphy, Colonel Robinson, it was a pleasure seeing you again and I will see the two of you tomorrow as well." He and his Secret Service agents left.

"He's not a bad guy," Dennis said. "I've worked with a three different presidents since I was first assigned to the Pentagon and he's the best that I've worked with yet. He's nice but he's also a smart man. I think this will work out very well for you guys."

"I hope it does," Max said. "I just want to get into my jeans and a t-shirt the second I get back to my apartment." Becky muttered something under her breath and snickered. Max and Zack turned to glare at her while Dennis and Caroline, neither of whom heard what Becky had said, looked puzzled. "Becky, grow up."

"What did…?" Caroline trailed off as she figured out what Becky must have said and she shook her head. "Becky, leave your brother alone."

"Fine," Becky said.

"I guess I'll be getting back to the site," Dennis said. "Caroline, are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready," Caroline said. She smiled. "Be good, you guys."

"I will," Zack said.

"So will I," Becky said.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Max said. "I'll call with the place for the meeting. It might not be here."

"No problem," Dennis said. "We'll see you then." He and Caroline left.

"I hate meetings," Becky said. "One of the things that drove me nuts back at Manticore was when they would have a visiting officer present when I would be briefed by Colonel Lydecker for a mission that I would be leading. He would take forever to go over the information because he wanted to show off in front of the visitor."

"Don't worry, you're scheduled to switch with Alec at the negotiations tomorrow anyway," Max said, laughing. "Come on. Let's get back home."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, jracklesfan77, and HoneyX5-452 for their reviews and support! I'm sorry if this part was kind of boring, but I thought it was kind of a necessary evil. I'll try to make the next part better!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I get to look forward to more negotiations this afternoon," Max muttered as she worked in the control room the next day. "I feel the same way that Becky does about meetings." She sighed. "It could be worse. I could be up to the morning sickness stage of the pregnancy already. Now there's something that'll liven up negotiations about your future."

"Oh yeah," Brin said cheerfully. "If you're lucky, these negotiations will still be going five weeks from now and then you'll get your wish."

"Yeah, it's all that I'm hoping for right now," Max said sarcastically. She sighed. "Five more weeks and then it'll be little to no hope of keeping down my breakfast."

"If it's twins, or possibly more than twins, it'll probably start earlier," Sasha said. "I started to get morning sickness about five weeks into my pregnancy with Jade and Julia. It was so bad, too. Man, there were mornings when it took every bit of my training to drag my ass away from the toilet and get to whatever work I had to do that day. Thank goodness that Renfro gave the order excusing the breeding program females from their activities in the event of morning sickness otherwise I would have been in solitary half of the time until Manticore burned down." She laughed. "I even puked all over Alec one time when we were standing in lineup one morning before our morning drills. Under normal circumstances, that would have gotten me at least a week in solitary. When it happened, all it got me was the rest of the morning in the infirmary." Her grin definitely became evil. "Oh yeah, everything's worse when you're having twins. The morning sickness is worse and if you're as lucky as I was it'll last most of the day, and just wait until your breasts get tender, holy crap…"

Max smirked. "Wayne said when he checked me out yesterday that it looks like I'm having only one baby."

Sasha returned the smirk. "I didn't know I was having twins until I could hear their hearts beating inside me." Her face softened as she recalled the moment. "Man, that was…"

"Incredible?" Max said softly.

"Yeah," Sasha said. "It was heartbreaking for me too, because this was still before Manticore burned down. I knew that I was going to be a mom and these were my children and I could never give them up for anything but I knew that I was going to have to give them up when they were born and you have no idea how that felt like." She grinned. "I'd never been happier than when I cleared the fence the night Manticore became history."

Max nodded. "I can only imagine." They got back to their work. "Speaking of kids, are you and Biggs talking about having any together or are you going to put that off until the twins are older?"

"We're not putting it off," Sasha said. "At least, not for too much longer. We're going to wait for my next heat in about a month-and-a-half or so. You know, make what we have as official as it gets for us."

"If Biggs is like his best friend in bed, it will be worth the wait," Brin said.

"Neither of them can beat Zack," Max said proudly.

"No offense, ladies, but if you're going to discuss…" Dix started to say.

"Sorry, Dix," Max apologized. "We'll try to keep it down."

"Thanks, Max," he said gratefully.

"I have every confidence in Biggs' ability to make my heat so good, neither of us will be able to remember much," Sasha said. "We've come close before."

"Yeah, Alec mentioned it once I think it was around the time that you came to Seattle," Max said. "Krit had some deep scratches on him because he just managed to get away from Syl and she was in heat and Alec recognized them and he said why he recognized them."

"Alec wasn't there when it happened," Sasha said. "Biggs told me that he told Alec about it later when Alec ran into him as some of the guards were taking Biggs to spend the rest of the day in the brig. It was a good thing that Alec wasn't there because this was before both Rachel Berrisford and Brin and Alec would have tried to go for me if he'd gotten a whiff and Biggs would have tried to kill him. I was so damn angry at Melanie and Diane for holding me back from Biggs and not just because I can't stand those two bitches anyway."

"What a surprise," a female voice remarked.

Sasha squealed and vaulted over the desk that she was working at and hugged the young woman. "228! It's about time that you got to Terminal City. You missed some big action here." She snickered. "Typical of you, isn't it? You missed the breeding program because of your last mission and you missed Ames White going down. I'm sensing a pattern here."

"Oh, give it a rest, 121," 228 said.

"Max, Brin, this is one of my friends from Manticore, 228 or…" Sasha said.

"CeCe," 228 said. "It's nice to meet somebody who's actually friends with 121."

"Sasha," Sasha said.

"It wasn't easy," Max said. "She wanted to kick my ass in the worst way when we first met, but we're all cool now."

"That sums up Sasha," CeCe teased.

"Very funny," Sasha said.

"Did you come in by yourself?" Brin asked.

"No, I came in with a friend," CeCe said. She looked slightly apprehensive.

"What gives with the look, CeCe?" Sasha asked.

"That would be me," another voice said. Sasha looked up and her eyes widened, her expression somewhere between thrilled and apprehensive and jealous. "Good to see you again, Sasha."

"It's great to see you again, 849," Sasha said. She looked at the baby that 849 was holding. "That's your baby? Boy or girl?"

"Girl," 849 said. "Her name is Andrea. My name is Gem."

Sasha couldn't help snorting in laughter. "After the London mission, huh?"

"Yeah," Gem said.

Max looked back-and-forth between Sasha and Gem. "What's with the soap tension dealio?"

"Gem was my other friend from Manticore pre-toasting," Sasha said. "She was also Biggs' breeding partner. He's the father of little Andrea there."

"That's what 511 is going by?" Gem asked.

Brin blinked. "Holy shit. That explains a lot."

"They paired Biggs with a friend of yours?" Max said. She shook her head. "It makes me wonder if Renfro somehow knew that you and Biggs had something going on between the two of you."

"It does, doesn't it?" Sasha said.

"Where is Biggs now?" Gem asked.

"He's over in the gym getting a workout in," Sasha said. "He's going to stop by here when he's done and then we're picking up my daughters from the nursery and then we're going to relax in our apartment before I have to go out on the security group that's going to accompany Max to the negotiations."

"Negotiations?" CeCe repeated.

"Yeah," Max said. She grinned. "The president has opened negotiations with us about bringing us into the general public. How cool is that?"

"That's amazing," CeCe said.

"It is," Gem said. She shifted Andrea in her arms.

"How old is she?" Max asked.

"Four months," Gem said. "I was put into the breeding program relatively late."

"She's beautiful," Sasha admitted. "She looks a lot like her father."

Gem nodded. "Yeah, she does. Do you want to hold her?"

Sasha bit her lip but nodded. "Yeah, I'll hold her." She reached out her arms and Gem carefully handed Andrea over to Sasha, who just stared at the baby for several moments. _So, this is Biggs' daughter. His daughter and not mine…get a grip on yourself, Sasha! Biggs accepted Jade and Julia and biologically, they're not his daughters! Yeah, he was a little apprehensive when he first met them, but he accepted them and then he grew to love them quickly and he loves the two of them as much as if he was their biological father. If Biggs can do that for your children, you can do that for his child! You know you can._ "Hi, Andrea. How are ya?" She gently tickled her with one hand and grinned. "I'm your wicked stepmommy."

Gem, Max, Brin, and CeCe laughed. "You got the wicked part right," Max said, snickering.

"That was just hilarious," Sasha remarked. She handed Andrea back to Gem. "If you want to, you can come back to Biggs' and my apartment with Andrea. I know that you and Biggs have a lot of things to talk about and the girls should get to know each other."

"I'd like that, thank you," Gem said. "Did you hear that, sweetie? You've got two playmates just waiting to meet you. You're going to have so much fun!"

"That was really mature of you, Sasha," Max said.

"Gem is one of my best friends," Sasha said. "And Biggs is Andrea's father. It's the least I can do."

"Max is right," CeCe said. "I don't know if I could have handled it that well."

"I couldn't have a few years ago myself," Sasha admitted. She smiled. "I guess the babies aren't the only ones who are growing up."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and HoneyX5-452 for their reviews and support!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Okay, it's been two weeks and not a damn thing," Rena complained as she, Zane, Jondy, Wayne, and Brin sat around the living room of Brin and Alec's apartment. "Aren't those negotiations getting anywhere?"

"Chill out," Brin said. She was holding Anthony in her lap and had an amused look on her face. "Maxie said that the negotiations were going very well." At the raised eyebrows that she got from the other four, she shrugged. "…and then she almost punched a hole in the wall but Alec stopped her so she just punched him in the arm instead."

"Maybe we should make a nametag for Alec that says 'professional punching bag,'" Jondy joked.

Brin rolled her eyes. "As immature as you're starting to get, you've actually got a point. God only knows how I would hit him when I would have a mood swing when I was pregnant when Alec was around and ask Maggie sometime about how swollen Alec's hand had gotten as a result of holding mine while I was in labor. I think I accidentally broke a bone or two."

"Yeah, and he had his hand bandaged for a week," Wayne recalled. He laughed. "I told him that I thought he did it on purpose to get out of diaper duty for awhile." They all laughed and Wayne opened his mouth to say something when a cell phone rang.

"That would be mine," Jondy said. She took it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. "Hey, it's Maxie." She flipped the phone open and answered the call. "Hey, Max, what's going on? Negotiations done for the day?"

"Oh, they're done for the day, all right," Max said, but she sounded happy. "Wayne with you?"

"Yeah, and so are Zane and Rena and Brin and Alec," Jondy said. "Why?"

"First level of the empty parking garage on Willow Street," Max said. "I've got some more calls to make. I'll see you there."

"See you there," Jondy agreed. She disconnected the phone and put it away. "Max said that we need to be at the first level of the Willow Street parking garage in thirty minutes. She didn't say why we needed to be there."

"Hell, it's an excuse to stretch my legs," Brin said. She winced. "Whoops, I didn't mean to say that word in front of the baby."

"What, legs?" Zane teased.

Brin glared at him. "If I wasn't holding my son, I would throttle you right now."

Twenty minutes later, they left the apartment and walked over to the parking garage that Max had told them to go to and to the first level. The area was filling up with transgenics. Most of the adult and adolescent transgenics were already there and more continued to come in from elsewhere in Terminal City.

"Wow," Zane said as he looked around the room. "There's got to be at least close to a thousand of us here. Where are…there's Krit and Syl! Hey, we're over here!" He held up a hand and waved to the two of them. They spotted Zane and walked over.

"This is insane," Krit said. "Whatever Maxie has to say, it's gotta be absolutely huge."

"Oh yeah," Syl said. "I've never seen this many of us gathered in one place."

Jace, holding Little Max in her arms, walked up to the group. "Hey. Is this all of us excluding Max and Zack?"

Brin did a quick head count. "Yep, all eight of us that are supposed to be here are present." She shifted Anthony in her arms. "I wonder where Alec is."

"I'm right here," Alec said as he walked up to the group with Biggs and Sasha. "Some party, huh?"

"You went out on the security group again," Brin said. "Can you give us a hint?"

"Nope," Alec said. "I can't tell you under penalty of severe injury inflicted upon me by Max."

"Don't expect me to tell you, either," Zack's voice said from behind them. They turned around to see him standing there looking amused.

"Why not?" Rena asked. "If anybody's had a front row seat to whatever Max has got to say, it's you."

"Hey, listen up!" Max yelled from one end of the parking garage level. Immediately, everybody turned to face her. "I'm glad that you're all here. I've got some really big news for everybody." She grinned. "The president has accepted the final terms. He'll be getting back to D.C. later this afternoon, but as of this time a week from now, we'll all be free!"

A huge roar went up from the crowd. "Oh my God! I can't believe it! We'll really be free!" Jondy squealed.

"Chill out for a moment, okay?" Max yelled, but she was still grinning. She waited for the noise to die down a little before she continued to speak. "I know that you all have first names and maybe some of you have been using last names, but we all have to pick first and last and maybe middle if you're into that thing, names by this time three days from now so that we can be given our passports, birth certificates, and any other papers that we'll need. I have the paperwork for that dealio here in Terminal City and it's in the control room so stop by and pick it up and tell everybody who isn't here to do that, okay? That's it for now and congratulations, everybody!" The cheering started again and Max practically flew across the parking garage level to her family and was immediately hugged by Zack. "Can you believe it? Can you really believe it?"

"We've come so far and it's finally here," Zack said. "We're going to be truly free."

"This is just…amazing," Wayne said. "To be out there like any other person."

"You can actually be a real doctor now, Wayne," Jondy said.

Wayne grinned. "Yeah. I can't wait."

"I am absolutely opening my own shop," Zane said. "Customize cars, restore old cars, general mechanical work on cars and motorcycles, everything. It's going to be perfect."

"Need a partner?" Krit asked.

"If it's you, then absolutely," Zane said. They both grinned and exchanged high fives.

"I don't know what I want to do," Zack confessed.

Jace grinned wickedly. "You've got a kid arriving in eight-and-a-half months, Zack. You'd better figure out something."

"I will," Zack said. He pretended to glare at Jace, but he was in too good of a mood to make it a real glare.

"I know that he will," Max said.

"What about you, Maxie?" Syl asked.

"For now, I'll focus on the baby," Max said.

"Am I hearing this correctly?" Jondy said in mock surprise. "Max, a full-time stay-at-home mother?"

"I'm going to find and get a job eventually," Max said. She stuck her tongue out at Jondy. "But for now I want to make sure that I have as smooth of a pregnancy as I can possibly have and a healthy baby. When the baby's old enough, I'll get back into the job thing." She grinned. "There's absolutely no question at all that the baby will come first, but I know I can be a wonderful mom and handle a job at the same time."

"Absolutely," Zack said. He kissed Max.

"Get it while you still can before she gets too big or too sick for it," Wayne teased.

"Jondy, make him grow up," Max said.

"Lay off of them," Sasha said. "I plan on doing the same thing as Max. Actually, after Biggs and I hopefully have a baby together and he or she is at least a few months old, I'm thinking of getting into modeling. When I have assignments, I'll be able to take the kids with me."

"Modeling? My friends back in Texas were nagging me from the time we started high school to the time that I left the state to get into modeling," Rena said. She smiled thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll do that. Either that or get into business somehow."

"Listen to us actually planning our futures," Max said.

"I know," Zack said. "We've earned them."

"I can't wait," Max said.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to jracklesfan77, angelofdarkness78, and HoneyX5-452 for their reviews and support! Look forward to family, Max's pregnancy, more reunions (some good and some…), and maybe a little action after all … :)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Maybe a slight spoiler-ish thing for "Bag 'Em and a spoiler/spoiler-ish thing for "…And Jesus Brought A Casserole.'"

Max knocked on the door to Becky and Maggie's apartment almost a week later. "Hey, Becky, you in there?"

"Yeah, come on in. The door's unlocked," Becky replied.

Max opened the door and looked and saw Becky lying on her stomach on the floor reading a book. "Is that anything good?"

"Just a manual on the latest Glock model to come out," Becky said. She looked up and snickered at the look on Max's face. "I'm just kidding. It's some adventure story that Kyle lent me."

"Is it any good?" Max asked.

"Actually, it is pretty good," Becky said. She bookmarked her page and put the book aside and stood up. "So, what's up?"

"Not much," Max said. She shrugged, but she was obviously trying to hide a smile. "I only wanted to drop this off for you." She held out the hand that she had been hiding behind her back. In it was a manila envelope with Becky's barcode number and designation written on it. "They put everybody's barcodes and designations on the envelope. No clue why, that's just how they did it."

Becky's eyes widened when she saw the envelope and she grabbed it from Max and opened it and took out the birth certificate and looked at it. "Holy shit. This is real."

"I'd say so," Max said. She turned her head to take a look at the birth certificate. "'Rebecca Charlene Murphy.' Zack told me that you guys had decided to use Dennis' last name, but why Rebecca and why Charlene?"

"I didn't feel like telling people all of the time that my name was really Becky and it wasn't short for Rebecca," Becky said. "This saves me the effort." She shrugged. "It was harder than I'd thought to come up with a middle name that sounded good with both Rebecca and Murphy. Wait until your and Zack's kid is born and see how much luck you have."

"I've got plenty of months to go before it's time for us to pick out names," Max said. "Passport and driver's license and everything else in there?"

Becky put the birth certificate away and looked inside of the envelope again. "Yeah, everything that's supposed to be in there is in there. I'm all set."

"Cool," Max said. "Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

"I have," Becky said. "I was actually thinking of maybe teaching at the college level. It seems like a worthwhile profession and college professors still make good money. I've got to admit, I was thinking about joining the military, but I decided not to do it. To put it at the absolute mildest, I was hardcore in the military for the first seventeen-plus years of my life. I spent my formative years under conditions more intense than even the toughest Navy SEALs could ever be under. I need to step away at least a little bit."

Max smirked. "And being a professor would mean you'd still have people to boss around and you're not going to give up the occasional heist and you're not going to stop working out or carrying guns."

"You've really gotten to know me, haven't you?" Becky said.

"Of course I have," Max said. "Seriously, that sounds great."

"Thanks," Becky said. "How about you and Zack? He hasn't told me anything about that yet."

"He's still thinking about it," Max said. "Worse come to worse, he'll join with Zane and Krit, but he'll see what's out where and what he thinks he'll enjoy doing."

Becky nodded. "That makes sense."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "Man…one more day and we'll be back outside. We'll really be outside."

"I know," Becky said. "Where are you guys going to stay tomorrow night? Are you going to continue to live here in Terminal City or what?"

"We're gonna crash over at O.C.'s for at least the first night," Max said. "I miss her. I even miss the stupid apartment. What about you?"

"I'm gonna see if my old apartment is still available," Becky said. "I still have the keys to it." She grinned wickedly. "The only way to pick the lock that I had put on my front door is to take the stupid door off of its hinges."

Max laughed. "Nice."

"Thank you," Becky said. "If my apartment's still available for me…shit, all of my crap's here. I'm going to have to move everything back."

"Yeah, me too," Max said. She shrugged. "No big dealio."

"Yeah," Becky agreed. She shrugged. "Both of my parents have offered to let me stay with one of them while I either find a new place or while I move my crap back into my old one."

"Are you going to take them up on their offer?" Max asked.

"I have no clue," Becky said. "I've never lived with a parent before. For crying out loud, Max, I'm still calling them by their first names and not Mom and Dad."

"True," Max said. She smiled. "Well, if you temporarily crash with Caroline, then you'll probably be expected to baby-sit Jenny sometimes."

Becky laughed. "I know. I wouldn't mind. I like her."

"Does Jenny know that she's related to you and Zack yet?" Max asked.

"Caroline told her sometime this past week," Becky said. "She told me that Jenny took the news really well."

"That's good to know," Max said.

"I'm worried about what will happen when it eventually gets about her and Dennis being mine and Zack's parents," Becky admitted. "They're pretty high profile these days."

"Not to mention you and Zack," Max agreed. "I don't know. Maybe people will be sympathetic. I don't think that they'll start hating your parents."

"Oh?" Becky said skeptically.

"I know what you mean," Max said. She shrugged. "I don't think that they'll start hating them, but people could hate them already and other people are just plain morons. I really don't know what to say to you."

Becky snorted. "If Normal would have heard you say that just now, he would have had a heart attack or a stroke or at the very least have passed out."

"Yeah, he always did complain that I had an answer for everything," Max said. "He could never believe that I could come up with so many different excuses for being late for work. I think he at least appreciated the fact that my excuses were more plausible or at least more entertaining than the excuses that Sketchy would come up with." She grinned. "I can't wait to see them again."

"Normal will have a heart attack seeing you walk through Jam Pony again," Becky agreed. "Hey, Max, which do you think is more likely to make Normal freak? The fact that you're transgenic, the fact that you randomly showed up again after several months, or the fact that you're pregnant?"

"Well, I already did randomly show up at work again after several months being completely MIA," Max recalled. "When I go to visit everybody, he'll probably be all 'Well, at least I know what your excuse is this time.' I would have to go with finding out that Alec is transgenic."

"Oh yeah, he would have absolutely freaked out when he heard about that," Becky said, laughing. "Do you think that he'll offer Alec his job back if Alec stops by Jam Pony?"

"He just might," Max said. "We'll find that one out."

"Yeah, I guess we will," Becky said. She smiled. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm feeling fine," Max said. "I'm still a few weeks away from morning sickness. Oh, that's going to be so much fun. I used to have seizures, but I've never thrown up before. The only time that I was ever sick with something other than seizures was that one time when I was eight and they knocked my immune system down enough so that they could test that mega-flu bio warfare crap on me and even then, I somehow avoided throwing up."

"You're not getting out of throwing up this time," Becky teased.

"I know, I know," Max said. "I've got to give these envelopes to Biggs and Sasha. I'll see you later, Becky."

"I'll see you later," Becky agreed.

"Bye," Max said. She turned around and left the apartment.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, HoneyX5-452, and jracklesfan77 for their reviews and support! It still means a lot to me.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I can't believe how nervous I am," Max said. "It's nothing I haven't done before. All any of us that are doing this semi-ceremonial walking out deal is just walking down the street. So what if there's a crowd of hundreds of people at least watching your every move? No big deal."

"You'll be fine, Maxie," Zack assured her. "I'll be right there with you."

"You don't have to hold my hand," Max said, but she was smiling a little. "I'm a big girl."

"It'll be fine," Becky said as she picked up her duffel bag and slung the strap over one shoulder. "The three of us plus Alec go out, the crowd hopefully cheers, and then Dennis and Caroline get their people to make sure that they go back to whatever they're supposed to be doing and then the rest of us leave at their leisure. It's simplicity itself. It'll go absolutely fine."

"I just wish that I could take my baby," Max said.

"When we find a place to settle down outside of Terminal City, we'll bring your motorcycle over then," Zack said. He gave Max a stern look. "Besides, do you remember what Wayne said? No riding the bike while you are pregnant."

Max shook her head. "I know. I hate the fact that I'm not supposed to ride."

"Don't worry," Alec said. "One of us will take it out once in awhile. I even promise not to wreck it."

"Yeah, that makes me feel so much better," Max remarked. She looked at her watch and picked up her own duffel bag. "It's almost time. We should start heading to the main gate now."

"Gotcha," Alec said. He turned to Brin and gave her a kiss on the lips and gave Anthony a kiss on his forehead. "I'll be seeing you guys later. I'll call you if I find some place for us to stay the night. If not, I'll head back here and we'll all go out together tomorrow."

"I'll talk to you then," Brin said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Alec said. "Tony, my little man, watch over your mom while I'm out, okay?" He grinned when he saw his son smile and gurgle happily. "That's my boy."

Becky walked over to Jeff and gave him a hug. "I'll call you as soon as I get my own living situation sorted out at least temporarily, okay? Do you want me to see if anybody's in your old apartment before you head out?"

"Nah, there's no rush," Jeff said. "I'll go check that out when I get going later. That place was kind of a shithole, anyway." He gave Becky a quick kiss. "Take care. I love you."

"I love you, too," Becky said.

Zack kissed Max again and gave one of her hands a squeeze before he made sure that his bag was secure over his shoulder. "Are you ready, Maxie?"

Max took a deep breath and nodded. "I've been ready for this for more than twenty-one years, Zack. Let's do this."

Max, Zack, Becky, and Alec left the control room and walked outside. They walked through the streets until they reached the main gates of Terminal City and stood there and waited. Dennis and Caroline stood in front of the other side of the gate with their subordinates and a big crowd of spectators behind them. Dennis stepped forward and took out a key from one of his pockets and unlocked the gate and opened it and Max stepped forward out of Terminal City and into the main part of Seattle. To her surprise, most of the crowd cheered.

"Holy crap," she said under her breath.

"We did it," Zack said. He gave Max's hand another squeeze. "Now that we're actually free, what do you want to do first?"

"Get back to my old apartment and see Original Cindy for sure," Max said. She grinned and turned to Becky and Alec. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Sure," Becky said. "Let us know when you want to swing by Jam Pony tomorrow."

"We will," Max promised. She and Zack started walking in the direction of her old apartment. "Did you see how proud your parents looked?"

"I did," Zack admitted.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again…"

"…only in my family," Zack finished.

"Most parents watch their kids graduate from high school and/or college, but yours and Becky's parents get to see this," Max said. "I think this way outranks school graduations."

"It doesn't even come close," Zack agreed.

They continued walking until they finally reached Max's old apartment building. They went inside and took the elevator up to Max and Original Cindy's floor and walked down the hall until they got to the apartment's front door. Max took a deep breath before she knocked on the door. "Boo, it's me."

A moment later, the door was flung open and Original Cindy pulled Max into a big hug. "I missed you, boo. I can't believe this is finally over. Come in." She stepped aside and nodded in greeting to Zack. "It's good to see you too, soldier boy."

"It's nice to see you again, Cindy," Zack replied.

"What's been going on at Jam Pony since I've been down in T.C.?" Max asked. "The gang still there? Normal still has that stick up his butt?"

"Yes and yes," Original Cindy said. "A few of us have come and gone, but most of us are still there, including Sketchy." She paused. "Do you guys want something to drink? Name it, I've got it."

"Just some water for me," Max said. "We couldn't take either of our bikes here so we had to walk from Terminal City."

"Water for me, too," Zack said.

"Cool," Original Cindy said. She went into the kitchen to get them their water.

"Do you have a new roommate yet?" Max asked.

"Not right now," Original Cindy said. "I had one for awhile. She drove me up the wall so I finally kicked her ass out a few weeks ago." She came back into the living room and handed Max and Zack their drinks and sat down next to them on the couch. "That's just how it goes sometimes. And before I forget, thanks for getting that kid to come over here last week to take out whatever Mr. Freaky Dude had put in here. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Max said. "Aren't you thirsty?"

"No, I'm cool," Original Cindy said. "You guys can just leave your bags in here. My ex-roommate took her bed with her when she moved out, but this couch pulls out. I'm actually glad I gave you the couch because it gave me an excuse to go get this one."

"What's wrong with a couch that doesn't pull out?" Max teased. "It didn't bother Becky at all and she slept on that thing for a month before she found her own apartment." She and Original Cindy laughed.

"True enough," Original Cindy said. "I was going to go out soon and get some groceries. If soldier boy eats anything like you do, I need to stock up quick. Either of you wanna come with?"

"No, I think we're just gonna chill here for awhile," Max said. "Maybe we'll go out for awhile later."

"Cool," Original Cindy said. "I'll blaze, then. I'll see ya both later."

"See ya," Max said.

"See you later," Zack said. He waited until the door closed and then he turned to Max. "Is it good to be back?"

Max grinned. "It's great to be back."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and HoneyX5-452 for your reviews and support!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "411 on the D.L." and "Bag 'Em."

"You look happy," Sketchy said to Original Cindy the following morning at Jam Pony.

"Yeah, Max dropped by yesterday," Original Cindy said.

"Cool," Sketchy said. "I miss her. How's she doing?"

"Ask me that yourself, you moron," Max said teasingly. She, Zack, Becky, Alec, Jeff, and Wayne stood at the entrance. She walked inside and gave Sketchy a hug. "How have you been?"

"The usual," Sketchy said. "It's been dull without you and the others here."

"Great, here we go again," Normal said from behind the counter. He rolled his eyes. "I know your excuse this time."

"And it's a good one, too," Max said.

"Unfortunately, it is," Normal agreed. He turned to Alec and shook his head. "I can't believe that you never told me that you were one of them."

"I still am," Alec said. "It wasn't something that I could admit in public when I started working here. I'm sorry that I lied to you, Normal."

"Well…apology accepted," Normal said. He turned to look at Zack. "Is that at least part of the reason why you disappeared last year? I guess that whole story about Becky being your sister and her getting into an accident was a crock."

"Partly," Zack said. "I had an unavoidable situation come up and I had to leave suddenly. That story about Becky being in a car accident was a lie, but she really is my sister."

"Though I have had at least one good near-death experience," Becky added.

Normal was quiet for a moment before turning his attention to Jeff and Wayne. "Let me guess—you two are also transgenics."

"Yeah," Wayne said. "We are." He smiled. "You wouldn't happen to have an opening, would you? I need something to tide me over until I get a position at one of the nearby hospitals."

"Doing what?" Normal asked.

"Practicing medicine," Wayne said.

"As in being a doctor?" Normal said in disbelief.

"Absolutely," Wayne said. "I had years of medical training back at Manticore and I even lied about my age and used a false identity to get through medical school down in Alabama years ago. I've kept up on my medical training and I'm fully qualified in any specialty."

Normal looked dazed and Max had to restrain a laugh. "Wow. That's…impressive." He sighed. "I do have a few openings. You can fill one of them until you get that job at a hospital. Do you want your old job back as well?"

"Yeah," Jeff said. "I'm looking for a career but I'll need something in the mean time."

"And how about you, Alec? Please tell me that you want your job back," Normal said.

Alec grinned. "Part of me does, Normal, but I'm a little high-profile these days. I'm not entirely sure that it'll be good for business. It'll be either really good or it'll be really bad, you know what I mean?"

"I do," Normal conceded. "I'm guessing that the same goes for the rest of you?"

"Yes, it does," Zack said.

"Yes," Becky agreed.

"Yep," Max said cheerfully. "That and I'm pregnant." She couldn't resist the grin that spread across her face when she saw the look of complete shock that Normal had.

"You're—you're actually going to have a baby?" Normal stammered.

Max nodded, the grin never leaving her face. "I know, it's hard to believe." She pointed to Zack. "He had a hard time believing it when I first told him and he was the one that helped me make this kid."

"He—he's the father?" Normal managed to say.

"Oh yeah," Max said. She was really enjoying this. "Do you need details?"

"No, thank you," Normal said. He still looked a little stunned. He shook his head and turned back to Jeff and Wayne. "You two can both get a bike from the rack. If you still have your old bikes, you can just return the ones that you use today to the rack and bring in your old bikes tomorrow. You both know when to be in and when you can leave."

"Gotcha," Jeff said.

"Well…" Normal started to say, but he shook his head and turned back to his work and Max and the others walked over to Sketchy and Original Cindy.

"Congratulations, boo!" Original Cindy said. She gave Max a big hug. "I can't believe that you're going to have a little baby boo."

"I'm still getting used to the fact," Max admitted. "Thank you."

"Congratulations to you too, soldier boy," Original Cindy said.

"Thank you," Zack said.

Sketchy turned to face Zack, clearly nervous. "Um—I want to apologize for every time that I ever tried to look down your sister's shirt or tried to pick her up or have had any kind of dirty thought about her, especially from before she turned eighteen. Please don't kick my ass." He turned to Becky. "Thank you very much for not beating the living shit out of me whenever I did that."

Zack looked amused. "Apology accepted."

"You're welcome," Becky said. "I knew you were a good guy where it counted. I only beat the crap out of assholes who hit on me."

"Oh—do you really?" Sketchy wondered.

"No, I just knee 'em in the groin," Becky said.

"But you aren't doing that anymore, regardless of the fact that we're free," Zack said, looking at Becky.

Becky rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, I'll try to restrain myself."

"I've got a hot run here," Normal shouted.

"I've got it," Wayne said. "I'll see you guys later. Duty calls." He walked back over to Normal, took the package, grabbed a bike, and left.

"I better see if my old locker was taken over," Jeff said.

Max nodded. "We should blaze, anyway."

"You are all coming to Crash tonight, right?" Original Cindy asked.

"Sure," Max said. "I can't drink, but I'm all up for chillin'. I missed kicking Sketchy's butt at pool."

"I almost miss getting my butt kicked at pool by you, too," Sketchy teased.

"Meet us there around nine," Original Cindy said.

"We'll be there," Max promised. She, Zack, Becky, and Alec left Jam Pony.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to HoneyX5-452 and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support! Also, thank you to everybody who read and/or reviewed "Names"!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Thank you so much to jracklesfan77 for an idea that she gave me that I ended up using in this chapter!

"Hey, there," Max said to Zack as he returned to their apartment a few days later. "Where have you been?"

"Talking with Biggs," Zack said.

"About what?" Max asked.

"Setting up a security service," Zack said. "Staffed by transgenics and run by Biggs and I. Security and bodyguard-type work only, no assassinations or anything like that." He smirked. "We figured it'd be a real money maker."

"Sounds like something the rich-and-famous would love," Max said cynically, but she smiled. "I think it's a great idea."

"Thank you," Zack said. "Once we get established and get a few clients, we can start looking for an apartment out in the main part of the city."

"Great," Max said. "It's not that I mind this apartment. I actually like it, but the second bedroom is pretty much a closet. There won't be much room to maneuver when there's a crib and other furniture in there." She smirked. "Though it will be nice if we can actually get an apartment where neither of us have to do a million hours of work on plumbing or electricity or anything like that. Original Cindy told me that she still has to replace the hot water heater practically every other time she wants to take a hot bath or shower."

"Are you getting lazy?" Zack teased.

"No, I'm just not like Zane, with whom you have to get a freaking bucket and a mop to clean up all of the drool that he has when he sees anything that's going to involve him using tools," Max said. She laughed. "He's going to have so much fun when his and Krit's shop gets up and running. When it does, I need to bring my motorcycle in for a tune-up. I know I'm not supposed to and I won't be riding it until after the baby is born, but it's been awhile since it last had a tune-up and if there's one person that I trust to fix my motorcycle other than myself, it's Zane."

"He's got a gift with anything mechanical, that's for sure," Zack said.

"Not to mention explosives. Thank goodness for everybody else that he's not making that his career," Max said, laughing. "He used to absolutely love live ordinance training back at Manticore. Remember that? There would be Jondy, Eva, Gale, Parker, and Krit standing off to one side looking nervous as hell and there would be Zane who'd be practically singing a song and tossing around the C4 as if he was playing catch with somebody."

Zack started laughing as well. "I think that the trainer was the only one who didn't think at least once during live ordinance and that was because he was even more gung-ho about it than Zane."

"We did have some good memories from there," Max said. Her face darkened briefly. "Not nearly enough to make us consider staying there, but we do have some good memories."

"With each other," Zack agreed. "Every good memory that I have from before we escaped, it involved at least some if not all of the members of our family. Do you remember the time when we were running laps around the facility about a year before we gave ourselves our names and Ben had passed Parker and Krit and he turned around to stick his tongue out at them and he didn't see the mud puddle and he slipped and fell?"

"I couldn't believe that he'd gotten so much mud on him," Max said, giggling. "He was so lucky that it was raining like crazy that day so by the time we reached the trainer again, most of it had washed off and the trainer didn't say anything but the look on Ben's face was absolutely priceless. What about the time that—"

A cell phone rang and cut off what Max had been about to say. "That's mine," Zack said. He took it out of his pocket, looked at the caller I.D., and opened it and answered the call. "Dennis, what's going on?"

"Have either of you watched the news yet today?" Dennis asked.

"No. Why?" Zack asked.

"It finally got out," Dennis said. "About you and your sister and your mother and I."

"I'm surprised it took this long," Zack said. "What's going on?"

"Channel Five asked one of us to do an interview on their evening news magazine program later today," Dennis said. "Caroline will do the interview since I've still got some wrapping up to do out here."

"We'll definitely be watching," Zack said. "Does Becky know about this yet?"

"Caroline is on the phone with her as we speak," Dennis said. There was a pause. "Becky seems to be taking it well. Either that or she's a really good actress."

"She is a good actress, but I think she's also probably taking this news well," Zack said.

"I think so, too," Dennis said. "Listen, I have to get going. I'll talk with you again sometime soon. Take care, Zack. Good-bye."

"You too, Dennis," Zack said. "Good-bye." He disconnected and put his phone back in his pocket and sighed. "This better go over well."

"Don't sweat it," Max said. "This will be fine. It's just an interview and you're not even the one who's going to be giving it. Relax and let your mother handle it." She smiled seductively. "If you want help relaxing, I know exactly what will do the trick and Wayne did say that it's perfectly fine for us to do this and it won't hurt the baby."

Zack reached out and pulled Max close to him. "I'm not exactly sure what you have in mind…"

"You don't?" Max said teasingly. "D—" This time, she was cut off by Zack's kiss.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to HoneyX5-452 and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"So, Colonel Robinson, how long have you known about this relationship that you and General Murphy share with the two transgenics?" the reporter asked. She and Caroline sat opposite each other in the studio, both of them as calm and composed as can be.

"I was informed by one of my superiors shortly before the negotiations opened up between the president and the transgenics," Caroline replied. "General Murphy was informed at the same time."

"Yeah, the president does qualify as a superior," Wes remarked. His and Jeff's family plus Becky's and Zack's families sat around one of the big TVs in a recreation room inside Terminal City watching Caroline's interview.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. Shut up and let us watch the TV."

"Have you had any kind of contact with either of them?" the reporter asked.

"I have," Caroline said. "Both General Murphy and I…"

"She's good," Brent said. "Do all authority figures have this innate ability to bullshit convincingly?"

"When I have I ever bullshitted you, Brent?" Becky said.

"The first time that I went parachuting out of a chopper when I was nine," Brent said. "You and everybody else who'd been jumping before were there and we had to have been I don't know how many feet up but you said 'It's okay, 570. Parachuting is easy and it's fun. Calm down and you'll enjoy it.'"

"You would have enjoyed it if you hadn't caught that gust of wind as you were jumping," Becky said. "That was blind luck and you know it and you caught yourself perfectly and got down just fine. You eventually liked parachuting as much as the rest of us do, so I didn't bullshit you."

"Hey, Max, did you get to parachute jumping?" Felicia asked.

"I did," Max said. "It was really good."

"Good? That was one of the greatest rushes known to all of mankind," Jondy said.

"Colonel Robinson, the relationship that you and General Murphy share with those two transgenics was not the only formerly classified information that we have obtained," the reporter said.

"Shhh, this sounds like it's going to be interesting," Syl said.

"We have also received some information that states that you yourself was once targeted by Project Manticore for accidentally uncovering some information concerning your…your son and subsequently, Manticore ordered one of it's transgenics to kill you, which it nearly succeeded in doing by causing you to wreck your car on February 27th, 2013. After you woke up from your coma after several months, you were left with no memory of the accident or of the preceding month. Is that true?"

"Yes, I was told all of this by the same superior who informed me about Zack and Becky and my relationship to them," Caroline said.

"I see," the reporter said. "Have you been able to regain your memory of that lost month before your accident at all?"

"I have," Caroline said. "After I was informed of the true nature of what I had previously believed to be and was told was an accident, my memory of the month before came back to me over the next few days. I remember the neurologist who was in charge of my case after the wreck had said to me after the examination that he performed after I had come out of the coma that if I didn't start to regain my memories of that month within the next few weeks after I had woken up, then I would either never regain them or I could regain them at some point in the future but it would most likely take a shock of some sort to get me to remember." She smiled slightly. "This definitely qualified as a shock."

"This will probably come as a shock to most of our viewers, but according to the information that we received, the files that you came across belonged to none other than your ex-husband, Colonel Patrick Nelson, who was secretly involved with Manticore," the reporter said. "And it was Colonel Nelson who reported this to the then-head of Project Manticore, Colonel Donald Lydecker, who himself was targeted by his successor at Project Manticore several months before it was destroyed for unknown reasons. How did you feel about that, both at the time and when you regained your memory?"

"Angry and betrayed by both of them," Caroline said.

"Both of them?" the reporter said, confused.

Max grinned. "And here is where the fun really begins, boys and girls!"

"Yes, both of them," Caroline said. "Donald Lydecker was an old friend of my family. In fact, he was the best friend of my late brother, Christopher. I'd literally known Donald for my entire life. He was the one who talked me into donating some eggs to what he'd led me to believe was simply government-sponsored medical research but was, as I'd later realized, Manticore, because he'd found out from my mother that my car, which was back home in Ohio while I was at West Point, had been damaged and I needed money for a new one. Donald was also the person who introduced me to Patrick."

"So the same person who helped you get some much needed money and even introduced you to the man who would become your husband and the father of your youngest child was the one who essentially tortured your two older children?" the reporter said incredulously.

Caroline nodded grimly. "Exactly the same person. Even back then, I had a feeling that something was off about the whole situation. General Murphy did as well, though neither of us could possibly have known just how off it was. The most that we could do to correct it was to burn the checks that we'd received from the office of the clinic where we'd made our donations in the fireplace in our the lobby of the motel that we both happened to be staying at, which we did as soon as he gave me a ride back there after my procedure was over."

"This is unbelievable," the reporter said. "It looks like we are now out of time, so let me thank you again, Colonel Robinson, for taking the time to speak with us."

"It's been a pleasure," Caroline said.

"Back to you, John," the reporter said.

Jondy took the remote to the TV and hit the mute button. "Ladies and gentlemen, especially those of us who were from Gillette, let's celebrate for we have witnessed the day when the general public has learned that Donald Lydecker is a first-class asshole scumbag!" Many of the other transgenics in the room cheered, but all of them had at least big smiles on their faces.

"And what a sweet moment it is," Becky said.

"Here, here," Max said.

Rena stood up. "I've still haven't packed my clothes and I've got an early flight to Dallas tomorrow morning. If I don't get started now, I never will and I'll be rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off after I wake up in the morning. I'll catch you guys later." She got up and started to leave, but she turned around and grinned. "That really was a sweet moment when Zack and Becky's mom busted Lydecker on the TV. You know that's going to be all over."

"It sure will be and I can't wait until it is," Becky said.

"Me too," Zack said. "No question about it, this was a satisfying moment in my life."

* * *

"…who helped you get some much needed money and even introduced you to the man who would become your husband and the father of your youngest child was the one who essentially tortured your two older children?"

"Exactly the same person. Even back then…"

Lydecker just stared in anger at the TV screen in his apartment. _How dare Caroline do this? How dare she put her spin on what had happened? I did not torture 599 or 405 or any of the other soldiers! I did what had to be done! She always was stubborn._ He looked back at the TV screen and saw that the interview had ended, so he turned the TV off and walked over to the window and stared off at his view of downtown Tacoma. _I always knew that one day that either that stubbornness or her anger would get her into trouble._

He looked out for another few moments before he turned around and pulled out his cell phone and dialed a phone number. _I hope that he hasn't changed his voice mail number from the last time I spoke with him._ He waited for a moment and smiled briefly when he heard the instructions for leaving a message. "It's me. I'm alive and well and I hope that you didn't believe any of the shit that Elizabeth fed you, because I'm going to need your help. It's imperative that you get back to me as soon as you can…"

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much again to angelofdarkness78, HoneyX5-452, and jracklesfan77 for their reviews and support! aod78, Zack's parents still don't know yet about Max's pregnancy, but they will in a few chapters at the latest. Thank you all so much again!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Caroline opened the door to her house and walked inside. "Jenny? I'm finally home."

"I'm in my room, Mom," Jenny yelled back.

"I'll be right there," Caroline said. She turned to Jenny's babysitter, who had just entered the room from the kitchen. "Thank you so much for looking after Jenny." She opened her purse and took out some money and handed it to the babysitter.

"It was no problem," the babysitter said cheerfully. She took the money, picked up her things, and left.

Caroline watched her leave and locked the front door before she walked upstairs to Jenny's room. She saw that the door was closed, so she knocked on it. "Can I come in, sweetie?"

"Yeah, sure," Jenny said.

"Thank you," Caroline said. She opened the door and walked inside the room and saw Jenny sitting on her bed looking out the window. "Did you and Missy have a good time?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jenny said.

"What's wrong, Jenny?" Caroline asked, concerned.

"I don't know," Jenny said. "I guess it's this whole thing with Dad. I still don't get it. Why did Dad want to kill you? You didn't do anything bad."

"I know," Caroline said.

Jenny looked at Caroline nervously. "Mom? If Dad wanted to kill you and helped do or covered up or whatever it was that you said he did with that stuff, does that mean that he was really bad, like evil bad? Does that make me as bad?"

"No, not at all," Caroline said. She gave Jenny a big hug. "Everybody's different. People go through different experiences. Your father made certain choices earlier in his life and he most likely didn't know where they would take him." _I personally doubt it._ "Regardless of what your father did, he wasn't all bad. He was funny and smart and he loves you very much." She let Jenny go and smiled. "You only inherited the best parts of your father. You are not bad. You are a perfectly normal, wonderful girl."

"Thank you, Mom," Jenny said. "Is Dad or that other guy going to get in trouble or go to jail for what they did?"

"No," Caroline said. She mentally sighed in frustration as she recalled the conversation that she and Dennis had with the president after the first day of negotiations had ended. "Neither your father nor Mr. Lydecker will not be prosecuted for what they did. It's complicated."

"Weird grown-up complicated?" Jenny guessed.

Caroline couldn't help laughing. "Exactly."

"Okay," Jenny said. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad I have a brother and a sister now," Jenny said. "Being an only child is boring."

"They aren't going to be living here with us," Caroline pointed out.

"I know that," Jenny said. "It's still nice not to be an only child."

"I know," Caroline said. She looked at the clock next to Jenny's bed. "You've still got more than an hour before you need to start getting ready for bed. Do you want me to make you a quick snack?"

"No, I think I'll just read," Jenny said.

"Let me know if you need anything," Caroline said. She left Jenny's room and walked down the hall to her own room and went inside. She walked to her closet and opened it and pulled out a box marked 'home movies' and randomly took out a DVD and opened the case and popped the disc into the DVD drive on her laptop at her desk and sat down and watched it.

_Oh my God, I remember this! Chris' twelfth birthday party._ She grinned as the watched the converted movie. _I still remember that old movie camera. When did Dad finally get the first camcorder, that kind of huge thing? Eighty-six? Eighty-seven?_

She saw Chris grinning and apparently talking with another boy his age and sighed. _I would have to pick a home movie that had Donald in it._ She saw her younger self, not even five years old at the time, walk up to the two older boys but Lydecker made a face at her and her younger self pouted. Caroline shook her head. The old footage didn't have sound, but she remembered the exchange perfectly.

* * *

"_Chris? My sneaker came untied and Daddy's too busy helping Mommy with the cake to tie it again. Will you do it?"_

_Lydecker made a face at her. "We're talking, Caroline."_

_Caroline pouted. "I'm sorry, but I almost tripped."_

"_Relax, Donnie," Chris said. He bent down and tied Caroline's sneaker. "There you go, Caroline."_

"_Sorry I snapped at you," Lydecker apologized._

_Caroline stared at him for a few seconds before she shrugged. "It's okay. Chris, did you see my Barbie doll? The new one?"_

"_You left it in your room," Chris said._

"_Thank you," Caroline said. She started to walk away._

"_If we're lucky, she'll get less annoying once she finally turns five," Lydecker said._

"_She's not annoying and you know it," Chris said. "You only think that she's annoying because she's my little sister. You even think that Lisa's younger sister is annoying."_

"_I guess so," Lydecker said. Caroline continued up the stairs to her room._

* * *

_Who knew what would happen so many years after that innocent conversation?_ Caroline thought as she continued to watch the movie. The phone rang and she clicked to pause it and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Sweetheart, what is going on?"

"I guess you heard about the interview, Dad," Caroline said. _I knew he'd call me before the night was over._

Caroline's father sighed. "Caroline, they broadcast the interview nationwide. I saw the entire thing. Why didn't you say anything to me sooner? Why didn't you tell any of your brothers? Were you telling the truth?"

"What you heard was the nice version," Caroline said. She filled her father in on the entire story.

"My…the whole time, Donald was…" Caroline's father was at a loss for words. "Still, Caroline, why didn't you tell us any of this earlier?"

"I was trying to protect all of you, Dad," Caroline said. "Those bastard breeding cult members tried to kill me and Jenny and Dennis because of who we are. If Becky's boyfriend hadn't been watching Jenny and if Zack and Becky themselves hadn't been trailing Dennis and me at that park, we'd be dead. I don't doubt for a minute that if they'd succeeded, they would have moved on to you guys. I didn't want to drag you into this mess. I didn't want you to worry."

"I'm supposed to worry. You're my only daughter," Caroline's father said, but he sounded calmer than before.

Caroline couldn't help laughing. "You're starting to sound like Mom."

"Maybe I am," he conceded.

"You definitely come out a winner in this," Caroline said. "You've got two more grandchildren. That brings your total to eleven now. Now you can finally brag to that guy Anderson that you have more grandchildren than he does."

"Very funny, you little smart aleck," Caroline's father said. They both laughed. "Pete and his family are getting into Columbus next week. If you can make it, come by and…and bring Zack and Becky with you. If they have somebody that they'd like to bring along, that's fine as well. I'd also like to meet Dennis if it's possible."

"I'll see what I can do," Caroline said. "The wrap-up work here is almost done and with any luck, I'll get some leave. Pete will probably get a kick out of seeing Dennis. They were on the football team together back at West Point for Pete's last two years there."

"Mom? Are you on the phone?"

"Just a second, Dad," Caroline said. She put a hand over the receiver. "Yes, Jenny, I'm on the phone with your grandpa. Do you want to talk to him before you go to bed?"

"Yeah," Jenny yelled back.

"That was just Jenny," Caroline said. "She wants to talk to you."

"I can't wait," Caroline's father said, laughing. "Put her on."

"Here she is," Caroline said, handing the phone to Jenny, who had just come into the room. She got up and walked outside of the room to give Jenny some privacy and smiled a little to herself. _I'm glad Dad took the news as well as he did. I hope Danny and Pete do as well!_

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to babyb26 and HoneyX5-452 for their reviews and support!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: You might not understand most of this chapter if you haven't read my fic "A Taste of Everyday", which is up on my website, first.

"I'm so damn nervous," Rena said the next day as she looked out the window as the plane started to land.

"Now are you glad that I came along for moral support?" Zane teased.

Rena rolled her eyes. "You know that I am glad that you came along with me, but you do have a business that you're starting up."

"I know that," Zane said. "But I also know how important this is to you and so does Krit. He won't need me back in Seattle for at least another three days. If I have to get back there then, I'll fly back and I promise to pick you up at the airport when you come back next week. Rena, don't worry about it."

"Okay, fine," Rena said. She smiled and leaned over and kissed Zane. "I'm sorry I'm being bitchy."

"No wonder I didn't notice a difference in your behavior," Zane teased.

"If I didn't love you, I would twist you up in so many positions until you were screaming for mercy," Rena said.

Zane's eyes lit up and he grinned. "Do you have any clue how much you turned me on just now?"

Rena smiled seductively. "If you play nice during the day, I can guarantee you that we won't be playing nice at night."

The plane landed and got to the gate. Rena and Zane got off the plane and retrieved their bags and rented a car and left the airport. Zane looked over his shoulder as they got onto the highway. "You know where we're going?"

"Yeah," Rena said, looking around. "I've been away from here for more than nine-and-a-half years, but I feel like I've never left. I just hope that Brianne hasn't moved."

"We'll find her if she did," Zane assured her. "Which exit do we have to get off at?"

"I'll tell you," Rena said. "It's not for another few miles."

They drove silently until they reached the exit and even then, they were both relatively quiet until they finally pulled up to the side of the street a few houses away from Rena's old foster home. There wasn't a car in the driveway so they both sat there and watched and waited until a car drove by them, slowed down, and turned into the driveway. Zane saw Rena's eyes widen. "Is that your foster mom?"

"That's Brianne," Rena confirmed. She watched Brianne as she got out of the car and entered the house. "That's even the same car that I used when I had to bail from here."

Zane nodded and started the engine again and drove the car down the street and pulled up in front of Brianne's house. "Do you want me to go in with you or do you want me to wait here in the car?"

"Wait here in the car for now," Rena said. "I'll let you know when I want you to come in." She took a deep breath and took off her seat belt. "Wish me luck, Zane."

"Good luck in there, Rena," Zane said. He gave Rena a kiss.

Rena smiled back at him and got out of the car and walked up to the front door. "Here goes nothing," she said to herself. She took another deep breath and rang the doorbell.

* * *

Brianne Griffith put her briefcase down and sighed. "Just another long day at the office," she said as she walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and got herself some bottled water. She closed the refrigerator door and sighed sadly when she saw the picture of herself, Vincent, and Rena that was still attached to the front of it.

_Janie looked so happy that day,_ she recalled. _She was so touched by the party that Vincent and I surprised her with for her twelfth birthday. The first birthday since her parents died. I'm glad we were able to make it so happy for her._

She sat down at the kitchen table. _I miss Vincent and Janie so much. It's been so many years both since Vincent died and Janie disappeared, but I still sometimes anticipate seeing Vincent getting out of our bathroom just as I'm waking up or seeing Janie with one of her friends in her room, laughing as they were at least pretending to do their homework!_

Brianne took a sip of her water and frowned. _I've accepted Vincent's death, I really have accepted it by now, but that did make sense in a way. He did have a history of strokes in his family. Heck, that was one of the reasons that we decided not to have children of our own but become foster parents instead. But Janie's disappearance, that makes absolutely no sense at all. She really was happy here and she was doing so well. She had been a little reserved when she first got here, but her parents had just died. The last two years she was here especially, she was so outgoing and friendly and she was laughing so much of the time and she was just a happy, well-adjusted girl._

She put the water aside and continued to sit at the table, lost in her thoughts. _The only thing that I can think of that comes the closest to making any kind of sense is that Nathan had something to do with her leaving so suddenly. _Brianne frowned. _Janie didn't give any kind of sign that she would run away. Nothing. Then she opens the door for Nathan when he comes by to pick me up and they were alone for a minute and I didn't hear anything happen, but something must have! And before we broke up the following week, whenever I'd mention Janie, he get a weird look on his face for a moment before he'd try to cover it up. He has to have something to do with Janie's leaving!_

The doorbell rang and Brianne stood up, confused. "Who the heck could that be?" She walked back into the living room and opened the door and her jaw dropped.

"I'm sorry it took me so long," Rena said nervously.

"Janie? Thank goodness that you're all right!" Brianne said. She hugged Rena. "Where have you been? Do you have any idea how much I've worried about you and how much I missed you?"

_More than you can imagine._ "I know. I've missed you so much too, Brianne," Rena said.

"Come inside," Brianne said. She waited until Rena had stepped inside the house before she shut the door. "I can't believe that you're finally home! I have to call the police, I have to call Sandra, I have to call--"

"Wait, Brianne," Rena said, cutting Brianne off. "Before you call anybody, we really need to talk."

"Of course," Brianne said. She and Rena walked to the couch and sat down. "What is it?"

Rena bit her lip. _Please don't let her hate me because I'm transgenic! Please don't hate me!_ "You've heard about the transgenics, right?"

"Of course," Brianne said. "It's been all over the news." She shook her head. "I can't believe that they would do such a thing, that people would create children and train them as soldiers since infancy? Those poor kids! I'm glad they got free and they stopped those horrible people from releasing that virus."

"Me too," Rena said honestly. She took a deep breath. "Brianne...my name isn't Janie. Jane Michelle Richardson never existed. My name is Rena, my barcode number is 331487456120, my designation is X5-120, and I'm a transgenic. I was born in the Manticore facility in Gillette, Wyoming on May 19th, 1997, not December 29th, 1997. I escaped from Gillette in March of 2009 with my unit, whom I consider to be my family, my brothers and sisters even though I'm not biologically related to them, and I've been on the run until the transgenics were officially declared free and given their citizenship and rights and everything."

Brianne stared at Rena for several moments silently. "You're a transgenic?"

Rena nodded and pulled her hair away from her neck and turned so that Brianne could see her barcode. "I used to sneak out of the house every few weeks and go into Dallas to get this removed. It would always come back so I kept on having to do this. I haven't gotten it burned off since this past March, though."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Brianne asked.

"I couldn't tell you this when I was living here because it wasn't safe," Rena explained. "I was on the run from Manticore back then. I had to be careful. The only reason I had to leave was because of dumb luck."

"Was it Nathan?" Brianne asked. "I always had a feeling that he had something to do with you leaving like you did. It was the only thing that made any kind of sense to me."

"It was Nathan," Rena confirmed. "You heard that there were also Manticore facilities in Seattle and Syracuse, right? I have an identical twin sister who was separated from me when we were two days old and she was transferred to the facility in Seattle. Nathan was a guard from that facility so he saw my sister there all of the time and he eventually did recognize me. I didn't find that out until later. All I saw was a guy in a military uniform and I panicked and fled." She shook her head for a moment before she looked back at Brianne. "There were other people here looking for me, weren't there? Maybe military, but almost certainly a guy in his forties, short dirty blond hair, about medium-ish height, acted like he had a stick up his ass?"

Brianne couldn't help the chuckle at Rena's description of Lydecker. "Yes, that man was here the day after you left. He and the people that he had brought with him spent a lot of time looking through your room. They didn't take too much from there, though."

"That would have been the now publicly infamous Colonel Donald Lydecker," Rena said.

"Oh," Brianne said.

"Brianne...what do you think?" Rena asked quietly.

Brianne was quiet as well for a few moments before she started speaking again. "Honestly? I'm just happy that you're alive and well. I don't care who you really are. You're--I wanted you to be my daughter for real, Rena, and maybe it's too late to legally adopt you now, but I never stopped considering you to be my daughter and I won't stop now."

"I'll never stop considering you to be my mom," Rena said. She and Brianne hugged each other and cried tears of happiness.

TBC

**More notes:** Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and MoonAngel23 for your reviews and support! MoonAngel23, they'll be told about the baby sometime in the next few chapters. Thank you all so much again!


	14. Chapter 14a

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Caroline pulled her rental car to a stop in front of her father's house and parked it. She turned to Dennis. "Ready to meet the father of the woman you had two children with that he never knew about until last week?" she teased.

"Mom, Grandpa won't flip out on him," Jenny said.

"That's good to know," Dennis said. The three of them got out of the car and waited for Zack, Max, Becky, and Jeff to get out of their own rental car. "Are you guys ready?"

"I don't know," Becky confessed.

"Neither do I," Zack admitted.

"Will the two of you relax?" Max said. "It's going to be fine. I'm sure that your family is cool."

"They are," Caroline assured them. She looked around. "My dad's car is in the driveway."

"He still drives? How old did you say he was again?" Dennis teased, trying to lighten Zack and Becky's moods. It seemed to work as he saw both of them smile a little.

Caroline rolled her eyes but she also smiled. "He's eighty and you won't get him to stop driving until he's dead. He still works out every day and he's definitely still sharp upstairs. He's a great guy. You'll like him." Something caught her eye. "It looks like Danny and Erica and their kids are here. That's Danny's car over there." She smiled as they walked up the front steps. "Maybe Cassie even brought her son with her." She rang the doorbell and they all waited.

The door opened a moment later. Danny Robinson stood there, grinning. "Look who decided to show up. If it isn't Little Miss Busy."

"Little Miss Busy who decided to use part of her three-month leave to actually visit your sorry ass," Caroline retorted, but she also grinned and after Danny let them all inside the house, gave him a big hug. "It's great to see you again, Danny."

"It's great to see you too, Caroline," Danny said. He turned around and looked at Dennis. "You must be Dennis. I did see you once before, though we were wearing football helmets and on opposite sides that time."

"The 1990 Army/Navy game," Dennis recalled. He smiled and shook Danny's hand. "It's nice to properly meet you."

"Yeah," Danny agreed. He turned to Zack and Becky. "It's an honor to finally meet the two of you. I'm your Uncle Danny."

"It's nice to meet you," Zack said. Becky nodded in agreement as they took turns shaking his hand.

"Where's Erica, Cassie, Amy, and Mark?" Caroline asked. "Did Cassie bring Andrew and Keith with her?"

"Drew is coming with Cassie and they will be bringing Keith with them," Danny said. "All of the kids are coming separately. Amy's actually here already, but Erica needed to run out to the store for something for the fruit salad she's making for dinner tonight and she and Amy went in Amy's car. They should be back in a few minutes."

"Is that my little girl?" Mr. Robinson's voice said from one of the other rooms of the house. He entered the living room a minute later and went over to Caroline and gave her a big hug. "Thank goodness that you're in one piece, sweetheart."

"Hi, Dad," Caroline said. "How have you been?"

"Very well," he said. He looked at Zack and Becky. "You must be Zack and Becky."

"Yes, sir," Becky said then winced. "Sorry. Force of habit."

Mr. Robinson nodded and smiled at her. "I understand. You can call me Grandpa. I'm so happy to meet both of you."

"Thank you," Becky said.

"You're welcome," he said. He turned to greet the others and did a double take when he saw Max. "Caroline, is it just me or does she look like…?"

Caroline sighed. "Yes, she does. I'll explain later. That's Zack's girlfriend, Max, and the boy is Becky's boyfriend, Jeff. That's Dennis, Zack and Becky's father."

Mr. Robinson greeted the three of them and then turned to Jenny. "And how have you been doing, young lady?"

"Good, Grandpa," Jenny said. "I'm looking forward to school starting next month."

"Is this really my niece?" Danny teased. "Is this the same girl who complains about school whenever I talk to her?"

"Very funny," Mr. Robinson said. "Caroline, why don't you show the kids around the house while we wait for the others to get here?"

"Sure," Caroline said. "Follow me." She walked up the stairs and paused at the door of the first bedroom to her left. "That's my dad's room. The bathroom's right across the hall from there."

"What about the door next to the bathroom?" Zack asked.

Caroline smiled. "That was my bedroom when I was growing up. Do you want to see it?"

"Sure," Becky said. They followed Caroline as she walked down the hall and opened the door. She and Zack looked around her and she blinked. "Wow, it's so…normal."

"Yeah, it is," Caroline said. She stepped inside her old room and looked around at the posters and the pictures and awards that hung on the walls or were displayed elsewhere in the room. _Even I can't believe how normal my room is. It's very normal, just like how my life used to be before I left for West Point. When did my life start to slide from normal?_ "It almost seems like it belongs to somebody else. I know it was mine—I know that it is mine—but I feel like such a different person than the one that I was when I last lived here. I wouldn't trade who I am and my life for anything, but it's just…"

"…it feels like an out-of-body experience," Zack agreed. "We all change. I've changed a lot from who I used to be. Sometimes I almost don't recognize myself or my life, especially these days, but I wouldn't change it for anything or anybody."

"Exactly," Caroline said. They smiled at each other. "Come on. Let me show the two of you the rest of the house." They turned around and left the room.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and HoneyX5-452 for their reviews and support! I'm sorry if this part sucks, but it's going to get very good soon! Thank you all so much again!


	15. Chapter 14b

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Zack stood in the living room and was just looking around until he felt a pinch at his side. He turned around and looked at Max and raised an eyebrow. "What was that for, Max?"

"You can go out there and actually start a conversation," Max said. "I know that you're nervous, but your family seems to be pretty cool." She looked over where Jenny was being chased around by her cousin Cooper. "Except for that demon spawn over there. I thought Jenny was exaggerating when she told me how she hated Cooper, but she wasn't. That kid is a handful-and-a-half. Our child better not turn out like that."

"Are you saying that you just might have found something that you might not be able to handle?" Zack teased.

"Wow, that's a first," Becky said. Her hand shot out suddenly. "And that's why having a transgenic cousin sucks, kid."

"Oh, man," Cooper whined. "I can't believe that you caught that!"

"Cooper, what did you throw at Jenny?" Pete said warningly.

"A spitball," Cooper admitted.

Becky's eyes widened a little and she dropped the spitball from her hand. "No wonder it felt wet."

Zack shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Thank you, Becky," Pete said.

"You're welcome," Becky said.

"Is Cooper always that...?" Zack asked one of his cousins, Cooper's half-brother Bradley.

"Yep, he's always like that," Bradley said. "He hit the little annoying brat phase when he was six and he hasn't grown out of it yet. I'm lucky that I'm away at college half of the time and I don't have to put up with him every day like Dad and Jessica do."

Pete sighed. "Brad..."

"Sorry, Dad," Bradley apologized. "Why do you look so nervous, Zack? Still got the meet-the-family nerves? You know, you kind of lucked out a little bit there. You don't have to worry about meeting your girlfriend's father and have him scare the crap out of you to the point where you'd rather live than date your girlfriend."

"Brad, is that why you didn't bring her with you? You told me that she had a family reunion of her own this weekend," Pete said.

"Well, she did, but I broke up with her last week," Bradley said. "Oh, come on, Dad! You met them, too. I thought her father was going to literally rip me into pieces if I even sneezed or breathed in Liz's direction. At least I know now where Liz got her control issues from."

Zack couldn't help smiling. "Thanks, Bradley."

"You're welcome, I guess," Bradley said.

"So, Jeff, what are you doing right now?" Pete asked.

"Right now I'm working as a bicycle messenger while I try to decide on a career," Jeff said. "I still haven't made up my mind about what to do."

"You've got time," Pete said. "How about you, Max?"

"I'm still trying to decide," Max said evasively. Most of the others didn't notice it, but Becky tried to restrain a snort.

"What about you, Zack?" Danny asked.

"Security," Zack said. "A friend of mine and I are going to start a transgenic-run security agency."

"Becky?" Danny asked.

"College professor," Becky said. "I've got an interview over at University of Washington-Seattle in two weeks for a position in the English department."

"Mom would have been thrilled to hear that," Pete said. "I think that's what she wanted me to become instead of going to West Point and joining the Army."

Caroline shook her head and laughed. "No, Mom wanted you to be a lawyer and she wanted me to be a college professor. Remember?"

"Are you sure?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, Caroline's got it right," Danny said.

"What was she like?" Zack asked. "Y--my grandmother."

"She was a great lady," Caroline said. "She kept the four of us in line, but she was so nice and she was just great. I miss her so much."

"Me too," Pete said. "She would have loved to meet you guys."

"She spoiled us absolutely rotten," Cassie, Danny's oldest child, said.

Amy, her younger sister, rolled her eyes. "Grandma spoiled you all of the time because you're the oldest grandchild."

"Still jealous?" Cassie teased.

"Will the two of you stop?" Erica, their mother, said. "Cassie, you've got a three-month-old son of your own. Will at least you try to act older than him?"

"Sorry, Mom," Cassie and Amy apologized.

The front door opened and Cassie's husband, Drew, came inside the house. "I've got the beer." He handed a case of beer over to Danny. "No change."

"Thanks, Drew," Danny said. "Anybody who's legal want another beer? Dennis?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Dennis said.

"Pete?"

"Yeah, thanks," Pete said. He grabbed the bottle that Danny tossed to him and opened it and took a sip.

"Zack?"

"No, thank you," Zack said.

"Max? Do you want one now?"

"No thanks," Max said. "I can't."

Caroline's eyebrows went up at that. _Did she just say that she couldn't have a beer? Does that mean what I think it means? Please let it mean what I think it means!_ "You can't?"

Max winced. _Damn, I didn't mean to say that last part out loud._ She turned to Zack, who nodded. "Yeah, I can't."

"Max is pregnant," Zack said.

Caroline cheered. "Yes!"

"Whoa, calm down," Danny teased.

"Hey, that was no worse than Erica's reaction when Cassie told the two of you that she was pregnant last year," Caroline pointed out. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Max said, a little embarrassed. Everybody, except for Becky and Jeff who already knew, started to congratulate them. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Dennis, who hadn't said a word since Max and Zack had told everybody, quietly leave the house.

Caroline also noticed this and nodded. "I'll go after him. I'll be right back." She went out the door and closed it behind her and walked across the porch to where Dennis was standing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Dennis said. "I'm just shocked as hell right now." He ran a hand through his hair. "Caroline, three months or so ago I didn't have a clue that I was a father at all, much less the father of two children, and now I find out that I'm going to be a grandfather. I'm as happy as I can be for Zack and Max, I honestly am. I just feel like this is happening so fast. I know that they've known each other for Max's entire life and I know how long that they've been officially dating and all of that, but I just feel so...overwhelmed."

"I know you do. It's okay," Caroline said. She moved closer to Dennis and put her left arm around his waist. "I'm sure that they understand. You've got time to get used to the idea."

"I know," Dennis said. He put his right arm around Caroline's shoulders and they stood their quietly for a minute. "I'm going to be a grandfather. I'm actually going to have a grandchild." He started to grin.

"I knew you'd come around," Caroline teased. They both laughed and then Caroline sighed. "Which ever of you kids is closest, please tell Danny and Pete that nothing is happening and that they can get their minds out of the gutter right now and I will beat the shit out of them if they say anything and that includes any cracks about behavior that a future grandmother shouldn't display."

"I thought you were thrilled about becoming a grandmother," Dennis teased.

"I am thrilled, but I know my brothers very well," Caroline said. They both laughed and went back inside the house.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to HoneyX5-452, angelofdarkness78, and Kelzaa for their reviews and support!


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

_What a good night's sleep. I wonder how long that will last me,_ Max thought as she woke up one morning a week later. _Wayne says that I should start needing sleep more often. I still seem to be sleeping normally for me. _She turned onto her side and smiled when she saw Zack still sleeping. _What a man. I still can't believe that he and I are together at all, much less mated and expecting a baby! I never thought that this would happen._ She smiled and brushed a few hairs off of Zack's forehead. _It's like some dream..._

Max stopped abruptly and lay still for a moment before quickly untangling herself from Zack's arms and throwing the covers off of herself and racing for the bathroom. _...and now it's time to wake up!_ She stopped in front of the toilet, flung the seat up, knelt down and vomited. _Guess what time it is, boys and girls? It's time for morning sickness!_ She lifted her head and took a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her pajama pants. _Oh, that was a blast._ She lurched forward again and threw up some more. _And the fun's not over yet!_

"Maxie?" she heard Zack say from the bedroom.

Max managed to stop throwing up long enough to lift up her head and give Zack a reply. "I'm in the bathroom."

Zack pulled on a t-shirt and walked into the bathroom and immediately went to Max's side and rubbed her back gently. "I'm sorry."

"It's no--oh wait, it is half your fault," Max managed to joke before she threw up again.

"Shhh, don't talk," Zack said. He just continued to rub Max's back while she threw up. Finally, Max stopped and grabbed some toilet paper and wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet. She shakily stood up and went over to the sink and washed her hands and brushed her teeth and practically fell back into Zack's arms.

"That was not fun," she muttered.

"It's over," Zack said. He kissed the top of Max's head and continued to gently rub her back as he held her.

"For right now, but I've got at the absolute least another six weeks of this," Max pointed out. "Ugh, I still feel nauseous."

"Do you think you need to throw up again?" Zack asked.

"No, not right now," Max said. "Thank goodness."

Zack nodded and let go of Max. "Do you feel like eating at all? We don't have much here but we could go to the cafeteria and get something there."

"I don't feel like eating anything, but I should try to eat something," Max said. "Let me get dressed."

The two of them went back into their bedroom and got dressed and left the apartment and headed to the cafeteria. They got some food and sat down at a table and they were joined a few minutes later by Zane and Wayne. Zack looked up from his eggs when he heard them sit down. "Hey."

"Hey," Wayne said. He took a look at Max and nodded. "Let me take a guess here: morning sickness started today?"

"It did, doc, thanks for noticing," Max said sarcastically.

"Nice bedside manner," Zane teased.

"Bite me," Wayne said.

"That's Jondy's job, isn't it?"

"Grow up," Zack said.

"Speaking of Jondy, where is she?" Max asked. "And where's Rena?"

"Jondy's working out in the gym. She's going to go out job hunting later today," Wayne said.

"And according to Jondy, Rena went into heat a few hours ago so I am now officially not allowed anywhere near her for the next seventy-two hours," Zane said.

"I guess that means we won't be seeing Sasha or Biggs for the next day and a half," Max remarked.

"Most likely," Wayne agreed. He looked over at Max again. "Good, you're making an effort to eat."

"I can't stand nausea," Max said. She ate the last mouthful of her cereal and stood up and put her tray away and then returned to the table. "I am not looking forward to the next six weeks or so."

"I don't blame you," Zane said.

"Neither do I," Wayne said. He looked over at Zane's tray and grinned wickedly. "You should have gotten the cheese omelet, Maxie. Look at all of that nice, greasy American cheese that's just dripping out of the omelet..."

Max started to look green. "Wayne, quit it."

Zack glared at Wayne. "Wayne, listen to Max. Drop it."

"Okay, okay," Wayne said. He was quiet for a few minutes until they had all finished and had gotten up and were leaving the cafeteria. "Man, that bacon that I had with my breakfast sure did hit the spot. It was nice and crispy and just dripping with grease. You could have drank the--" He was abruptly cut off when Max suddenly threw up all over him. "Oh crap."

Zane laughed. "Did you deserve that or what?"

"I did," Wayne admitted. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "I'm happy that I decided to eat breakfast early. I think I still have time to change clothes and be at Jam Pony early enough not to give Normal a fit. He's already annoyed that I have to take tomorrow off so that I can go to the interview for that position over at Harbor Lights. I'll catch you guys later." He headed off towards his apartment.

"Did you purposely aim for him, Max?" Zane asked.

Max shook her head and groaned. "No, I didn't purposely throw up on him. I couldn't hold it back and he happened to be there."

"Why don't you lie down for a little bit until you feel better?" Zack suggested. "Wayne did say that it would most likely go away some time before lunch."

"Okay," Max agreed. "I'll see you later, Zane."

"See you later, Maxie," Zane said. "Feel better."

"I'll try," Max said. She and Zack watched Zane walk away before they headed back towards their apartment. "I hope that I can make it back to the apartment before I have to throw up again."

"You'll make it. Don't worry," Zack said. "Maybe that was it for today."

"If I'm really lucky," Max said. They made it back to their apartment and went into their bedroom. Max took off her shoes and lay back down on top of the bed. "That is a little better."

Zack took his own shoes off and lay down next to her. "Is this better?"

"Yeah," Max said, smiling up at him. "It is." She gave Zack a kiss and snuggled up to him.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to jracklesfan77, angelofdarkness78, Kelzaa, MoonAngel23, and willow98002 for their reviews and support and a special thank you to jracklesfan77 for the idea that she gave me that I used in this chapter!


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"...yes, that would be great. Perfect. Somebody will stop by later today to pick them up. Thank you," Rena said a few weeks later. She hung up the phone and looked up as Max entered the office. "Hey, Maxie! What are you doing here?"

"My morning sickness seems to be done for the day and Zack's at work and I'm starting to get hungry," Max said. "The guys look like they're doing pretty good so far."

"I know and we've only been open for a week so far," Rena said. "I think so far it's that whole transgenic novelty thing, but they'll keep coming back when they realize what quality work they do."

"While they leave you and Syl to do all the behind-the-scenes business crap?" Max teased.

"They do their fair share," Rena said. She shrugged and stood up. "Let's get some food. I'm starving."

"So am I," Max said. "Should we get Syl?"

"Yeah," Rena said. She and Max left the office and went next door to the office that Syl shared with Krit and knocked on the door. "Max is here and we're going for food. You ready for your lunch break yet?"

"You know that I am," Syl said from inside the office. A few moments later, she left the room and walked into the hall and to Max and Rena. "Is it going to be just us three?"

Max shook her head. "Jondy's waiting in her car for us. Jace and Brin are also coming with. They're in Jace's car."

"Nice," Syl said. The three of them left the building and went out to where the other three were waiting for them. Max and Rena got into Jondy's car and Syl got into Jace's and they drove off to a restaurant. They went inside and sat down at a table. "When was the last time that we just did the sisters having lunch thing?"

"Without the kids? Way too long," Brin said.

"Did Alec take Anthony with him to work today?" Max asked.

"He did," Brin said. "I don't know how he'll deal with clients and his son at the same time, but if there's anybody who can do it, it's Alec."

Jondy shook her head. "I still can't believe that of all things, he's an art dealer."

"It's not that hard to believe," Max said.

"And he's good," Brin said. "Do you know how many paintings of Joshua's that he sold last week?"

"I'm happy for Josh that he found something that he can not only enjoy doing, but be successful at as well," Max said. "If there's one profession where a transgenic like him can be successful, it's art. Being unusual is a prerequisite there."

"True," Jace said.

"I've got a full day ahead of me today," Rena said after waiting for the waiter to take their orders. "After I'm done with my work at the shop, I've got to baby-sit Jade and Julia tonight while Sasha and Biggs go out on a date."

"I thought Gem was going to baby-sit the twins," Syl said. "That's what she said to me when she brought her new car in to be serviced."

"She was, but she had something come up at work and she has to stay there until eight-thirty tonight," Rena said. "She'll come over and take over for me when she gets back."

"That is one complicated family," Jondy said. "Sasha, Biggs, Gem, Sasha's twins, Biggs and Gem's little girl, and in a little more than eight months from now, Sasha and Biggs' new baby."

"It's not that complicated," Rena said. "They all get along. Gem and Sasha are still really great friends and Gem and Biggs are pretty good friends as well. There isn't that much tension left there if there is any left at all. They've got that whole deal sorted out and they're handling it pretty good. Personally, I'm really impressed with them."

Brin nodded. "They're really being mature about it." She grinned wickedly. "What about 591?"

"He hasn't showed up yet," Rena said. She shrugged. "If he doesn't, it's great, and if he does eventually show up...here's hoping that there won't be too much fireworks."

"Are you actually saying that you don't want shit to happen?" Max teased.

"For my nieces' sake," Rena clarified.

"Speaking of fireworks, you should have been there this one time when I was sixteen and I saw these two gangs just beat the living shit out of each other over this one girl," Jondy said. "It was absolutely hysterical. Just because the one dude's sister got drunk and hooked up with this other dude, they damn near beat each other to death. This happened to be right near the apartment that I was living in over in New Mexico at the time so I was able to watch the whole shit from my living room window." She shrugged. "I never understood that whole deal. What was the point of them beating the crap out of each other? If the girl had an itch and that was how she chose to scratch it, that's her business. Oh wait, male pride. Duh." She shrugged again and smiled. "Regardless of why they beat the crap out of each other, it was fun to watch. I wish I had a video recorder so I could have taped it and watched it again."

They waited while the waiter brought them their food and they started to eat. Jace took a bite of her lunch and shook her head. "Why did we decide to eat here? This food sucks."

"If you want to blame somebody, blame Jondy," Max said. "She was the one who wanted to eat here."

"And as far as post-Pulse standards go, this place is pretty good," Jondy said defensively. "I don't think the food is that bad."

"Well, not in comparison to your cooking," Jace said.

"My cooking is pretty good!" Jondy said. "You know it is. If you want to talk about bad cooking, let's talk about Max and Brin. Neither of them can cook to save their lives."

"I have gotten a lot better," Max pointed out.

"So have I," Brin said.

"It's true," Syl said. "Brin and Alec invited Krit and me over to their place for dinner last night and Brin actually cooked and it actually was borderline good and definitely edible." She laughed when Brin stuck her tongue out at her.

"When do you have to be back at work?" Brin teased.

"Speaking of work, Maxie, are you actually going to Washington in a few days or was that just a load of bull that Wayne was talking about last night?" Jondy asked.

"No, I'm flying to Washington in a few days," Max said. She rolled her eyes. "It's some boring dinner-political-public relations dealio. I hate this crap."

"You should have thought of that before you saved the world," Rena joked.

"Very funny," Max remarked. "Oh well. I'm happy that Zack will be there with me."

"So he's actually going to get dressed up?" Jace said. She raised an eyebrow. "The same guy who can't be without his jeans ever is going to dress up?"

"Yeah, he's going to get dressed up," Max said. She grinned and laughed. "Now there is some practice for when our baby is older: getting Zack dressed for something fancy."

The others also laughed. "I'd pay for that one," Jondy said. "Is it just going to be you and Zack or is Becky and/or Alec going with you?"

"Becky's going with us and she's almost as enthusiastic about getting dressed up as her brother is," Max said. "Jeff's going with her. Alec's going with us and so is Brin."

"Yeah," Brin confirmed. "We'll leave Anthony with Biggs and Sasha while we're away."

"Relax, you're only going to be away for a few days," Jondy said.

"Relax? I'll be away from my little boy for three days," Brin said. "I've never been away from him for more than six hours before, not counting sleeping."

"Jondy, chill out," Jace said. "It's harder than you think when it's the first time that you'll be away from your kid for a somewhat significant period of time. Just wait until you and Wayne have children. You're going to be just like Brin when that time comes. I know that I was like that."

"That won't be for a few more years," Jondy said.

"And I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' when it does happen," Jace said.

"I swear, we're settling down and having kids but will we ever completely grow up?" Max wondered.

"Good question," Brin said. "Damn good question."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, HoneyX5-452, and Kelzaa for their reviews and support!


	18. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I better hear back from them soon," Becky said one night almost two months later as she and some of the others sat at a table at Crash, watching Alec and Jeff play pool.

"Why haven't you heard anything yet?" Max asked. She took a sip of her water. "How many interviews have you been on for that position, anyway?"

"Three," Becky said. "It's the whole trimming down the list of applicants deal. I think that the third round of interviews was going to be the last, but I'm not sure." She shrugged. "At any rate, I should hear from them one way or another pretty soon. That position is supposed to start for the spring semester and that starts in the middle of January and it's already the end of October." She groaned. "That reminds me. My parents want to throw a party for me to celebrate my nineteenth birthday."

Original Cindy looked a little bit confused. "What's so bad about that?"

"Nothing, I guess," Becky said. "I've just never had a party thrown for me before. Last year I just went to the Halloween party here. That wasn't thrown just for me or even Max for that matter."

"Just let them have throw the party," Max said. "It might be fun."

"I guess," Becky said. "I think Caroline really wants to, especially since Zack somehow convinced them not to throw something for his twenty-sixth birthday last month." She laughed and grinned wickedly. "Twenty-six years old. Your man's getting up there in years, Max."

"That was pointless. He was over at the bar getting a new pitcher for those of us who are drinking," Sketchy said.

"Nope. I'm still in his hearing range," Becky said smugly. Her grin only got wider when Zack returned to the table and gave her a glare. "It's about time that you're back."

"I wish I knew why I even bothered," Zack muttered as he set the pitcher down on the table.

"Who knows and who cares?" Wayne said. He refilled his glass and drank from it.

"You don't have time to risk your neck by racing your girlfriend on your motorcycles or BASE jumping so you just have to settle for risking your neck by annoying Zack," Rena teased. "Personally, I think that's way more dangerous than BASE jumping."

"Yep, until I've been at the hospital longer, I've got to enjoy what little time off I can get however I can," Wayne said. "After this, Jondy and I are going back to my apartment and we're going to--"

"We don't need to know about what you and Jondy do behind closed doors," Max said.

Jondy shrugged. "Why not? It's probably nothing that you and Zack haven't done by now. Besides, we only started sleeping with each other recently."

"Moving on," Becky said. She turned her head as Alec and Jeff finished their game and headed back to the table. "Who won?"

"That would be me," Jeff said. He gave Becky a kiss and exchanged high fives with the other guys.

"I guess you guys didn't put money on it 'cause Alec still looks like he's in a good mood," Sketchy remarked.

"No, we didn't put money on it," Alec said. He finished his beer and looked at his watch. "I promised Brin that I wouldn't be out too late tonight."

"Is she your girlfriend or your mother?" Sasha teased. She sipped her own glass of water and exchanged high fives with the other girls.

"Biggs, buddy of mine, please do me a huge favor and get your girlfriend to quit being such an annoying bitch for once?" Alec joked.

"Actually, she isn't my girlfriend," Biggs said.

"Oh? You've been dating for a few years, you're mates, you're living together, you're raising children together and you're expecting one in a little more than seven months. If that doesn't make Sasha your girlfriend, what does that make her?" Alec said.

Sasha took her left hand out of her pocket and grinned triumphantly. "That makes me his fiancée, you moron!"

"Holy shit! Congratulations!" Rena said. She leaned over and gave her twin a big hug. "Have you decided on a date?"

"Not yet," Sasha said. "We'll figure that one out later."

"That is some rock," Max said. She looked at it critically. "I could easily fence that one for at least a hundred grand. Where did you get a rock like that?"

Biggs grinned. "I had plenty of cash saved from the last heist I did before we became legal. I wanted to save it for something special and I can't think of anything that's more special than this. Can you?"

"Not much," Alec said. "Congratulations, buddy."

"Thanks," Biggs said. The others congratulated him and Sasha. "Zack, have you popped the question to Max yet?"

"Not yet," Zack said. "To be honest, I'm planning on it, but not yet."

"We're as good as married anyway," Max said. "We love each other more than either of us can describe and there isn't anything that will keep us from being together forever if we can help it. It's not a question of love as to why we're not getting married yet."

"I'd say it's not a question of love," Zane said. "You two love each other so much, it's nauseating for the rest of us to look at you and seeing you make those eyes at each other that you do all of the damn time."

Max wadded up a napkin and threw it across the table at Zane. "And how many times have I been seeing you and Rena giving each other similar looks?"

"As much as I would love to watch this fight-in-the-making, I've really got to bail," Alec said. He threw some money on the table and stood up. "I'll catch you guys later." He left the bar.

"Actually, I feel like leaving myself," Max said. She stood up and so did Zack. "I'm starting to get a little tired."

Jondy blinked. "The last time you slept was only four days ago!"

"And I'm three months pregnant and my doctor over there says that I'll be needing to sleep more frequently the farther along that I get. Isn't that right, doc?" Max said.

"Yep, Max is actually right," Wayne said. He couldn't resist the temptation. "That makes a hell of a change, doesn't it, Jondy? Remember the time when--" he was cut off by the slap across the back of the head that Max had given him after she'd walked around to his side of the table. Wayne winced but laughed.

Max rolled her eyes. "Why do I've got the feeling that I decided to blaze not a moment too soon?"

"I have no clue what could have given you that idea," Becky deadpanned.

"Oh yeah," Max said. "Sasha, Biggs, congrats again! I'll see you guys tomorrow." She and Zack left Crash and started to walk back to Terminal City and their apartment. "That was nice."

"It was," Zack said. "It's probably good that we're leaving now because we've got a long day ahead of us."

"Yeah, we're looking at that apartment," Max said. She grinned. "I feel all domestic."

"What happened to the Maxie that I know and love?" Zack teased.

"Oh, she's still here," Max said. She grinned and stopped and pulled Zack down for a long, deep kiss. "She is definitely still here."

"I think I might have to look a little bit harder," Zack murmured and then he leaned down and kissed her before they continued onto their apartment, smiling at each other the entire way.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Kelzaa, angelofdarkness78, and HoneyX5-452 for their reviews and support!


	19. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"I hope that you like the party," Dennis said to Becky a few days later.

"It's fine," Becky said. "Thanks for throwing it for me and keeping it small."

"No problem," Dennis said. "Your mother and I figured that your friends and other siblings would publicly embarrass you."

Becky rolled her eyes and then and turned to glare at Zack. "For those of us who don't have enhanced hearing, would you please repeat what you just said?"

"Nothing...daddy's girl," Zack said, once again mumbling the last part under his breath so Dennis, Caroline, and Jenny wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Momma's boy," Becky retorted under her breath.

"I don't know what you two are saying to each other, but please stop it," Caroline said. She smirked when she saw the surprised looks on the faces of her older children. "It's a mom thing. When you have children, you'll know the precise moment they're misbehaving, regardless of whether you're transgenic or not." She turned to Max. "You'll be like this too. Heck, with your abilities, you'll be better or worse depending on your point-on-view."

Max shook her head. "Nah, the kid's gonna have the same abilities that Zack and I do. The playing field's gonna be leveled for me there."

"How are you feeling?" Caroline asked.

"Pretty good," Max said. "I sleep every three or four days at this point, but my morning sickness is gone and my energy is good again. I haven't gotten any weird cravings yet." She rolled her eyes when she caught Alec making a 'blah-blah' gesture with his hand. "I'm sorry about him, Caroline. He doesn't know his ass from his elbow."

"It's always the ass," Alec said. "Brin, please ask your younger sister to stop her obsession with my ass."

"Max, stop your obsession with Alec's ass," Brin said, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Why did you invite him?" Becky joked.

"Brin, where's the leash you've normally got on him?" Max added, snickering.

"Do you think it's time for cake yet?" Caroline asked Dennis.

Dennis nodded. "Yeah, I think now would be a good time for the cake. Do you want to help me with it in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Caroline said. She followed Dennis into the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator and took out the cake that they had gotten for Becky. "I'm glad we found the one decent bakery left in Seattle."

"Then again, we won't know that fact for sure until we actually eat this thing, will we?" Dennis teased as he opened the box and carefully transferred the cake onto a plate. "Can you get the candles for me while I get the serving knife? They're in the drawer over there."

"No problem," Caroline said. She retrieved the candles and handed them to Dennis and blushed when his hand seemed to hold hers for a few extra seconds. "Um...here you go."

"Thanks," Dennis said softly. He blinked and opened the box and tried to concentrate on counting the twenty candles that they were going to use on top of the cake. "She'll be nineteen tomorrow. It's hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," Caroline said. "And she'll hopefully be starting a major job soon. I hope she gets that position."

"So do I," Dennis agreed. He put the last candle on top of the cake. "There we go."

"Looks good," Caroline said. "Did Becky tell you that Jeff is also going to be trying for a teaching position at the same school where she's interviewed for the position in the English department?"

"Yeah, she told me that yesterday," Dennis said. "The kid's going to interview for a position in the physics department for next fall she said."

"Amazing," Caroline said. "It's starting to make me feel old."

"You still look young to me," Dennis said. He looked her in the eye. "And beautiful."

Caroline felt her heart pounding in her chest. "So do you," she whispered. She felt herself drawn to Dennis, their lips so close, but the moment was cut short.

"Is the cake coming or what?" Alec's voice said from the other room. They faintly heard a smack and Alec jokingly complain.

"They're worse than I used to be," Dennis said. "Let's light these candles and get out there."

"Yeah," Caroline said. She found some matches and lit the candles and they brought the cake out to the other room. They all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Becky and waited for her to blow out the candles before Caroline cut the cake and started to hand out pieces. "First piece for the birthday girl."

"Thanks," Becky said. She took the small plate from Caroline and grabbed a fork and took a bite of the cake. "This is pretty good." Her cell phone rang and she rolled her eyes. "That sure figures." She put her plate down and answered her phone.

"Thank you," Max said to Caroline as she accepted her own piece a few moments later. She waited until Jeff had gotten his piece before she leaned in. "What was going on between you and Dennis in the kitchen earlier when you were getting the cake?"

"Nothing," Caroline said.

"You sound disappointed," Max observed.

"Maybe a little," Caroline admitted. "I don't know. I mean, he is a _very_ handsome man even though he's less than a year from fifty and it's only normal for a woman to be disappointed for something not to happen with a man like him."

Max smiled. "Are you actually in love with him?"

"He's a good friend," Caroline said.

"Yeah, and how long did it take your son to admit to me how he felt?" Max pointed out. "He takes after you in more ways than I thought he did."

"Okay, maybe I wouldn't mind if I was more than friends with Dennis," Caroline admitted.

"Wouldn't mind?"

"Fine, I would absolutely love it if I was more than friends with Dennis," Caroline said. "You're bossy."

Max smirked. "Takes one to know one."

"True," Caroline admitted. She shook her head. "It's not that easy, Max. We did almost kiss, but maybe Dennis was just caught up in the moment." She laughed a little. "I sound like I'm a teenager again. Wow."

"Wait for the right time," Max said. "He seems like a great guy."

"I guess so," Caroline said. "We'll definitely see what happens with him."

"Absolutely," Max said. She sighed. "Tonight would have been a great night to out for a ride on my motorcycle."

Caroline smiled. "I know how you feel. I wasn't allowed to ride my motorcycle when I was pregnant with Jenny. I--"

"All right!" Becky said excitedly as she disconnected her cell phone. "That was the head of the English department at University of Washington-Seattle. I got the position!"

"Way to go!" Jeff said.

"Congratulations, Becky," Dennis said. He gave her a hug. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Becky said.

Caroline congratulated her also and then she and Dennis stood back and they watched the others. "I'm so proud of her."

"Me too," Dennis said. "We've got great kids, don't we?"

"Yeah," Caroline agreed. She looked down at their intertwined hands. _I just need to wait for the right time._ She smiled. "We really do."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to MoonAngel23, HoneyX5-452, Kelzaa, and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support! To all of those who are wondering Zack will pop the question at some point later in this fic, thought it probably won't be for at least a little while. MoonAngel23, Max does not have any relatives other than Krit and I haven't decided on whether or not to write Max and Zack getting married or just refer to the event in the epilogue when I eventually finish the fic. Thank you all so much again!


	20. Chapter 19a

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Dennis turned off the TV and put the remote down several weeks later, sighing in frustration. _The days of actually finding something decent on must have gone away when the Pulse hit._ He stood up and walked outside and sat down on the porch swing that was out on his front porch and just stared out into the night.

_It's an amazing night out. I should be enjoying it somehow. Maybe I should call Caroline or one of the kids or..._ His eyes drifted and saw a family walking past his house, a young couple and two small children, a boy and a girl. The parents waved cheerfully to Dennis and he waved back to them and he watched them go and when they were gone, he leaned forwards and buried his face in his hands. _That should have been... _He took a deep breath and tried to collect himself. _I've missed so much. I missed so many years._

Dennis continued to look out at the neighborhood, but he couldn't derail his train of thought. _I've known about my children since May. For those first few months, I was so worried and concerned about them. I didn't want to be put in a position where Caroline and I would harm them in any way. I wanted to protect them if I could. Then we actually met them and we got to know each other a little bit and then a few months ago everything is resolved and we really started to get to know them. I really got to know Zack and Becky. It was--it is great. I felt so relieved that everything was over and I was so happy that I was starting to have a real parent-child relationship with my own children. But now..._ Dennis blinked away the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. _Now that everything's starting to settle down and fall into something of a normal pattern, it's really sinking in about how much I missed of their lives. How much was stolen away by Manticore._

He shook his head. _Damn, I should have been there for everything in the lives that they should have had! I should have been there when they were born. I missed their first words. I missed when they took their first steps. I missed almost every single important moment in their lives. Damnit, Zack's going to be a father himself in about five months and I can't even offer him any advice if he asks me for some! This hurts so fucking much. It really hurts._

Dennis sighed and closed his eyes. _As much as it hurts me to think about how much I missed of their lives, it hurts me so much more when I think about everything that they were denied growing up and everything that they went through. All of the torture, all of the pain, if I had a clue where Lydecker was I'd personally beat him to within an inch of his life. _He snorted. _At least everybody knows what he did now. If they see him on the street, they'll know this was the man who tortured my children and thousands of other innocent children and people!_

He sat back. _I am happy that my life is settling down again. It's been so crazy since May, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've been happier in these last couple of months than I've ever been before since before...when was the last time I felt this happy and...complete? Before I graduated from West Point?_

Dennis thought back on his own life. _My life was always good. I never had any brothers or sisters or much family in general, but my parents were amazing and then I met Simone when she transferred to my high school during senior year after she and her family moved to Baltimore from D.C. I wanted to get into the Army and go to West Point and that's exactly what I did. I was absolutely crazy about Simone and I asked her to marry me and as soon as I had graduated, we did get married. I've had a lot of friends. But something was always missing from my life._ He sighed. _I didn't become aware of it until the tail end of my marriage to Simone, but now that I think about it I've had that feeling for years. At first I thought it was because I didn't have children. Maybe that was part of it, but that feeling went away when I got here to Seattle and met back up with Caroline. Just at that moment, before she told me about the kids, something just felt...brighter, clearer. I felt happier. I thought it was because I'd seen one of my best friends after years of being out of touch, but that wasn't it. It never was._ He leaned back in the porch swing. _I love Caroline. I truly love her. She is the one that I should be with and that I've should have been with for all of these years._

He got up off of the swing and went back into the house. _I want to tell her, but how do you tell a friend, even a friend who's been through what Caroline has been through, that you love her as more than a friend?_ Dennis couldn't help laughing to himself. _Yeah, there's an age old question for you. _The doorbell rang and he walked up to the door and answered it and smiled when he saw Zack standing at the front door. "Hey. Come on in."

"Thank you," Zack said. He walked inside and took his jacket off and hung it up on the coat rack next to the door. "I was in the neighborhood on my way back from work so I thought that I would drop by."

"That was nice of you," Dennis said. "How is work?"

"Not bad," Zack said. "I like my job. Today I was doing some on-site planning for security for a private event at somebody's home." He shrugged. "Lots of executives and other rich people. I'm glad I'm not scheduled to actually be there at the party. I get bored beyond comprehension at those kinds of things."

"So do I," Dennis agreed.

Zack looked at his father. "Are you okay, Dennis?"

"I've got a lot on my mind," Dennis admitted.

"What about?" Zack asked.

"A lot of things," Dennis said. "You, your sister, your mother..." He shook his head. "Everything's catching up with me. How much I've missed, how things should have been for you and Becky, it feels like everything's finally starting to sink in and it's killing me inside. I should have been there. I should have realized that something was very wrong and I should have found out about Manticore sooner and maybe done something about it. I could have if I had found out sooner."

"I don't know if you could have done anything about it even if you had found out about Manticore years ago," Zack said. "As high up in the chain of command as you are, there are still people higher up and a few of them were involved with Manticore in one way or another. They would have done something to you the same way the tried to have something done to Caroline. The only reason that Caroline found out about me and Manticore at all before White had the transgenics' existence exposed back in March was because of luck as well as the fact that her ex-husband had been careless."

Dennis nodded. "I know. You can know something with part of your mind but the rest of it sometimes takes a little while longer to catch up."

"True," Zack said. "I've been there." He shrugged. "I guess it's natural that things are catching up with you now. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"And your mother has been dealing with these feelings for eight or nine years now," Dennis agreed. "I haven't experienced this yet." He frowned. "I wish that she hadn't had to go through what she did, either." He sighed sadly. "She told me that it felt like she had almost become a part of your world. Hiding in her own way from husband and in turn from Manticore, worried about you..."

"I know," Zack agreed. "I hope that you don't have to be a part of that world. You're my father and you're a part of my life, but I don't want you to have anything to do with that part of my life any more than you have been already."

"Neither do I," Dennis said. "We should focus on what's in front of us and not on what's behind us, anyway." He shrugged. "That's what I was at least trying to do. Have you and Max talked about baby names or is it too early for you guys to think about it?"

"We haven't started choosing names yet," Zack said. "We were thinking about starting to choose names maybe in two mon--" He was cut off when his cell phone rang. He took it out and looked at the number. "Alec. What's going on?" His eyes grew hard. "We'll be there." He disconnected and turned to Dennis. "Caroline's missing. We need to get to Harbor Lights now." Without another word, the two men raced out of the house and over to Dennis' car and they practically flew out of there.

TBC


	21. Chapter 19b

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Earlier that night…

Caroline walked down the street, smiling to herself. _It's a great night out. You can really see the stars and it's not too cold. I'm fine with only this light jacket. It's perfect._ She whistled cheerfully to herself until she spotted a boy about Becky's age just up the sidewalk from her, looking a little bit annoyed. _Do I know him from somewhere?_ "Excuse me, do I know you?"

He smiled. "You're Co--Becky's mom, right? I'm Wes."

"Wes...oh yes, one of her boyfriend's brothers," Caroline recalled. "Jeff told me about you. I don't think that I've actually met you before."

"No, I think the closest that we've actually come to meeting each other was back on the day that we were officially legal and Jeff and I and the rest of our family that's in Seattle walked out of Terminal City that afternoon," Wes agreed.

"Well, it's nice to properly meet you," Caroline said.

"Same here," Wes agreed.

"Why did you look so annoyed before?" Caroline asked.

Wes shrugged. "I'd gotten off the phone with a girl that I was supposed to go out on a date with tonight. She was going to meet me here but she chickened out on me and called me to call off our date."

"Was she a transgenic or a regular human?" Caroline wondered.

"Ordinary," Wes said. "I met her at my job. She's really cute and she was really funny, too. I asked her out and she said yes and I told her after I'd asked her out that I was a transgenic. She got kind of nervous after I told her but she didn't say anything then." He looked crestfallen and Caroline felt bad for him.

"It's okay," Caroline said. "Don't worry about it. You're young and you've got plenty of time. You can't be any older than Becky or Jeff."

"Yeah, I won't turn nineteen until June," Wes said. "I know, but..."

"...it's the fact that she rejected you because you're a transgenic," Caroline finished. "That's what you think, right?"

"All of the evidence points towards that conclusion," Wes agreed. "I don't know. I guess I hoped that since we were all declared free and legal that everything would be absolutely perfect and we'd have these normal lives without any problems. We've been starting our own businesses, getting jobs, things do seem to be going our way in so many ways. But every now and then there's a reminder that this still isn't a perfect world and that some ordinaries still don't trust us and are scared of us."

"That was profound," Caroline said.

Wes thought about it. "Yeah, it was."

"As far as problems with the other humans go, that's actually pretty minor," Caroline said.

"I know," Wes agreed. "I'm not trying to sound like a whiny kid. Honest. I've seen some actual nasty problems go down between ordinaries like you and transgenics like me." He shook his head. "I remember walking to my job and passing through South Market and seeing one of the anomalies being harassed by a group of people as it was trying to buy something. This poor guy is just trying to go about his business and he can't even go two feet without some idiot with half a brain calling him by some really nasty names. It's pretty disheartening."

"Cheer up," Caroline said. "Things are going very well considering what could have happened. Things will die down even more and people will get used to you guys. It'll be fine."

"You're right," Wes said. He smiled. "Maybe it's just as well that the girl canceled our date at the last minute. How good could she have been if she couldn't accept me for who I am?"

"Exactly," Caroline said.

Wes grinned. "Besides, I've always thought that Becky's sister Karen was really cute."

Caroline couldn't help laughing. "There you go. Why don't you ask her out?"

"I might," Wes said. "I might stop in on her later tonight. She's got shark DNA so she barely gets any sleep. I figure I've got close to a 99 percent chance of not waking her up if I pop in on her late."

"Do you sleep at all?" Caroline asked.

"Oh yeah, I do," Wes said. "My sleeping habits are weird. I sleep four hours in a night, but I only sleep every other day. I slept last night so I'm good for tonight."

"That must be nice not to need as much sleep as us ordinary people," Caroline said.

"It has it's upside and it's downside," Wes said. He grinned wickedly. "Only sleeping every other night sure came in handy when I wanted to pull a prank on Jeff back at Manticore when he was sleeping. I'm not quite as strong or as fast as he is so it was the only time that I could get away with it." He looked a little sheepish. "Well, at least until he found out that I was the one who did it."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "You pulled a prank on your brother? He's such a nice guy."

"I had to live with him from when I turned two until Manticore burned down right after my seventeenth birthday," Wes said. "Jeff is a great guy and I do consider him to be my older brother but he was also my commanding officer and you know how that goes."

"I do," Caroline said. "On both counts. No matter how much you might love or like them..."

"He got me back pretty good whenever I pranked him," Wes said. He grinned again. "Not that it stopped me from pranking him occasionally, but--" He stopped abruptly and started to look around, scanning the area that they were in.

Caroline grew concerned. "What is it?" she whispered.

Wes bit his lip. "We're surrounded. I'm hearing people moving into position around us. It can't be Familiars, they're long gone now, but it sounds like so--get behind me!" He shoved Caroline out of the way and turned around and kicked a soldier that had rushed at him to the ground. More soldiers moved in and Wes tried to fight them off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall man take a Taser and nail Caroline with it. He immediately turned to move towards the man but he was nailed with another Taser from somebody else. He tried to fight against it, but the person held on to the Taser and Wes collapsed. He felt himself losing consciousness and struggled to stay awake. He looked up, his eyelids fluttering, and saw a masked man holding the Taser that was still firing at Wes.

_I know those eyes, _he thought as he lost consciousness.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to HoneyX5-452, Kelzaa, and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	22. Chapter 19c

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Just in case anybody forgot, Wes' designation is 312, Jeff's is 941, Vance's is 437, and Riley's is 252.

Wes slowly started to regain consciousness and groaned. _Oh man, did that hurt. I forgot just how much a sustained Taser hit sucked._ He tried to move his arms and legs and found that he couldn't, though he could feel the occasional uncontrollable twitch from them. He took a deep breath. _Nothing like the pain and the temporary loss of control over your limbs after a hit like that._ He took a deep breath to try to clear his head and his eyes opened wide.

_Damn, where the hell is Colonel Robinson? _He remembered seeing her tasered by another man and concentrated and listened as well as he could. _I don't hear her anywhere, not even breathing hard like she just woke up from a Taser-induced nap like I just did. Shit, this isn't good!_ He took a deep breath. _Calm down, Wes. It's time to calm down and use your training and think._

He took another deep breath. _First things first. Where on Earth am I?_ He looked around as best as he could. _Hidden in some bushes._ He closed his eyes and listened to his surroundings. _It sounds like I was hidden pretty decently out of the way. It's like whoever attacked Colonel Robinson and me not only didn't want much if anything to do with me, they almost wanted to protect me in a way. Very odd._

Wes tried to move his arms and legs again with only minimally better success. _My limbs still aren't working right. Okay, let's move on. The evidence seems to point towards the fact that they were only out to get Colonel Robinson and not me. But why?_ He thought about it. _Start with what you recognize. The man that tasered you. His eyes were familiar to me. I know that I've seen those eyes before._ He remembered what one of the trainers at Manticore had taught him and the others. _Think of your mind as if it were a database. Enter the data that you have available. The man had familiar eyes--I'm pretty sure that they were blue--and he was of medium height. Search through the database until you come up with a match._ He thought about it for a few moments before a memory came to him.

* * *

_312 was sparring with 437. The two of them went back and forth and it seemed to be heading towards a draw when the trainer suddenly yelled out "Halt! Director Renfro in presence!" 312 and 437 immediately stopped and went back into line with their unit and watched as 941, who had been called out of their martial arts class earlier to Director Renfro's office, entered the gym. Marching next to him was a girl who was unfamiliar but was obviously another X6 as she looked to be the same age as 941 and was wearing the same gray t-shirt and gray urban camouflage pants and army boots as they all were. Behind the two of them were Director Renfro and next to her was a man._

_"At ease, soldiers," Director Renfro said. "941, you may rejoin your unit." She waited until 941 had retaken his place at the head of the line next to 252 and then she gestured to the girl. "This is X6-405. She is from our Wyoming facility and she is the other soldier that will be going on the mission that X6-252 will be undertaking in three days. She will be temporarily attached to your unit until the completion of the mission. 405, you may take your place with Unit 4."_

_"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," 405 said. She saluted both Director Renfro and the man and took a place in line between 252 and 312. 312 managed to restrain his surprise. Normal protocol said that a soldier temporarily attached to another unit would take a place at the end of the line if the unit had been lined up in rank order, which they were since Director Renfro was in the gym with them. If 405 took a place that high up in the line then she must have been highly ranked herself back in her own facility._

_"Also, soldiers, some of you may or may not remember or have seen before Colonel Lydecker, who is not only in charge of the Wyoming facility but is also in command of the entire Manticore project," Director Renfro said. She motioned to the man. "He will be observing you for the duration of this class. That is all." She turned around and left the room._

_The trainer waited until he received a nod from Colonel Lydecker before he turned back to the unit. "No more wasting time! Let's see what this new girl is made of. 405 to the mats. 941 to the mats." He paused and waited for another nod of consent from Colonel Lydecker. "Ready? Begin!"_

_312 watched as 405 and 941 sparred. His eyes drifted for a moment from the two over to Colonel Lydecker and he immediately turned his attention back to his commanding officer and temporary unit-mate and managed to restrain a shiver. That glare and those eyes gave him the creeps._

* * *

_That was Lydecker!_ Wes frowned. _I guess that explains why he didn't want people to see me helpless and unconscious. _He groaned again, though it had nothing to do with the pain that he was in. _And the definitely explains why those people wanted to take Colonel Robinson! Oh shit! I better regain control of myself soon, or..._ He heard something and took a deep breath and concentrated with everything that he had on moving his legs and grinned when he succeeded. _I hope they hear me!_

* * *

Biggs stretched his arms as he and Alec were walking. "It feels good to get out for a little bit. It's nothing against Sasha or the girls, but..."

"I think she knows," Alec said. "Wasn't she the one who noticed that you were getting a little antsy because you have been so busy at work and almost ordered me to get your ass out of the house before she made me kick your ass?"

"No shit," Biggs said. He rolled his eyes but he smiled. "Man, what I wouldn't do for that woman."

"I hear ya," Alec said. "Brin's got me as whipped as Sasha's got you." He smirked. "If you tell Max that, I will kill you."

"Don't worry, bro," Biggs said. "You've got my word." They both stopped suddenly and turned to look at the bushes a few yards away to their right. "Did you hear something in the bushes back there?"

"Yeah," Alec said. He looked at Biggs worriedly when they heard a male voice moaning and they both bolted towards the bushes. "Who is it? Are you okay?" He and Biggs parted the bushes and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Wes laying there. "Wes! What the hell happened to you?"

"Hit by Taser. Big time," Wes said. "I still can't move around much."

"Not a problem," Biggs said. He leaned over and picked Wes up and over his shoulders. "We'll get you to the car and we'll head over to Harbor Lights. Wayne's on duty and I'll call ahead to make sure that he meets us in the emergency room."

"You better make sure that you call Zack and Becky too," Wes said. "And it might be a good idea to ask Wayne to keep some tranquilizers on hand to calm them down."

"Huh?" Alec said. "What do you mean?"

"Lydecker was the one who tasered me," Wes said. "But I wasn't the one that he and the soldiers that he was with were after..."

TBC


	23. Chapter 19d

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Wayne looked up and looked mildly surprised as Zack and Dennis entered Wes's hospital room. "Becky's not with you?"

"She's babysitting Jenny," Zack said. "And Max is back at our apartment."

"What happened?" Dennis asked.

Wayne nodded to Wes, who started to explain everything. "...and we're having a pretty good conversation when I hear people surrounded us. It sounded like soldiers on an ambush mission. I tried to get your mom out of the way and I tried to fight them off, but there were a lot of them. This one guy got her with a Taser and I went for him but then I got nailed with a good sustained hit with a Taser from somebody else. He wore a mask so I wasn't able to recognize him immediately before I passed out."

"Then what happened?" Zack asked.

"I regained consciousness some time later," Wes said. "It must have been close to an hour. I took a hit pretty bad, though I don't think the Taser was on max setting. The man who had tasered me had familiar eyes. I thought back to remember whose eyes they were and it didn't take me too long to figure out who." He hesitated slightly. "I'd only seen the guy a few times in my life at all and only up close once, but that was enough."

Zack's eyes hardened when he figured out who Wes was talking about. "Lydecker."

"Yeah," Wes said. "It was him."

Dennis was quiet, but the fury in his eyes was saying more than enough. "He has her?"

"He must," Wes said. "I couldn't hear Caroline anywhere in the area when I regained consciousness."

"Neither Biggs nor I could see her anywhere when we found Wes," Alec said.

"I went back after Alec and I brought Wes here and searched that area, but I couldn't find her then either," Biggs said.

"What's the next move, bro?" Wayne asked.

"We find her," Zack said. "Can I use the cell in here?"

Wayne shook his head. "You need to go outside. Hospital policy. Sorry."

"It's okay," Zack said. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He left the room and the hospital and stood just outside the entrance. He took out his cell phone and speed dialed Max's number.

"What's going on?" Max asked immediately.

"Alec and Biggs found Wes in the bushes where they'd been walking in Sector 8," Zack said. "Wes had run into my mother and they struck up a conversation and then they were attacked by some soldiers. Both Wes and my mother were tasered. My mother was kidnapped."

"Fuck," Max swore. "Did Wes get a look at who did it?"

"Yes and take a wild fucking guess at who was behind it," Zack said.

Max swore again. "I can't believe the fucker! Doesn't he know when to lay low?" She sighed. "What's the dealio?"

"We're going to figure that out soon," Zack said.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Max said.

"Max, no," Zack said immediately.

"Zack, I can help you," Max said. "You need all the help that you can get and you know it."

"I do know it but there is no way in hell that I'm letting you take part in the dirty work," Zack said. "You know as well as I do what Lydecker is capable of and there's no way in hell that I'm going to put you or our child in danger like that! My mother's life is already in danger thanks to that bastard and..." Zack had to pause to compose himself.

"I know," Max said softly. "It will be okay, Zack."

Zack nodded. "I know." He took a deep breath. "Look, Maxie, there is something that I need you to do that will be a huge help. I need you to go to my mother's house and relieve Becky and watch Jenny until we've found my mother and brought her back safe and sound."

"Of course," Max said. "You calling her next?"

"Yeah," Zack said. "Thank you, Maxie."

"You're welcome," Max said. "I love you, Zack. Good luck."

"Thank you," Zack said. "I love you, too." He disconnected. _Yeah, I'm going to need luck when I tell Becky about this._ He speed dialed her number and waited for her to pick up her cell phone.

"What's the word?" Becky asked.

"Lydecker has her," Zack said grimly. He waited for Becky's expletive-laden rant to die down before he spoke again. "Max is on her way over to relieve you with Jenny. Call Max immediately and work out a story with her that you can tell Jenny and as soon as Max gets there, head over to Harbor Lights. Wes is in room 508. Dennis, Wayne, Alec, and Biggs are already here."

"Got it," Becky said. "I'll call Jeff and fill him in."

Zack looked over and saw Jeff pull in to the nearby parking lot and bring his motorcycle to a stop. "No need. Jeff just got here." He waited for Jeff to secure the motorcycle and for him to run over and he handed the phone to him. "Becky. Bring it back to me when you're done. Room 508."

Jeff nodded and took the phone. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Zack said. He went back inside the hospital and upstairs and saw Dennis standing outside the room. "I filled in Max and Becky. Max is going to take over babysitting duty and then Becky will be on her way over. Jeff just got here and Becky's filling him in now."

"Good," Dennis said. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Welcome to my world," Zack said quietly.

"Yeah," Dennis agreed just as quietly.

"I..." Zack started to say, but he couldn't quite finish the sentence. He looked up at Dennis. "It never gets easier. I've been in this kind of a situation so many times and it's never easy. It's always hard and it always hurts." Dennis looked at his son and reached over and squeezed Zack's shoulder. Zack looked at him gratefully and returned the gesture. They stayed that way for a few moments before they turned and walked back into Wes' hospital room.

TBC


	24. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

_Whatever the hell I just did, I will **not** be doing that again!_ Caroline thought as she regained consciousness. _Wait a second, what the hell did I do?_ She blinked. _Oh right, I was out for a walk after doing some errands and I ran into Becky's boyfriend's brother and we were talking and...oh damn!_ She fully opened her eyes and turned her head to look at her surroundings. _Where the hell am I? This definitely isn't my bedroom and this isn't my house!_ She heard voices approaching the room that she was in and narrowed her eyes, the fury in her building. _Those fucking assholes! I should have fucking known that at least one of them would have tried something after the interview! _She tried to move, but realized that she was tied to the bed that she was laying on.

"Good morning, sunshine," Patrick said cheerfully as he and Lydecker entered the room. "How are we doing this morning?"

"I don't know, let me think," Caroline said sarcastically. "I've just been kidnapped by my ex-husband and my brother's former best friend. I'm doing just fine. Now let me go you asshole."

"I think that you already know the answer to that one, dear," Patrick said.

Caroline gave him a murderous look. "We're not married anymore. Don't call me dear."

"There's no need to be upset," Patrick said. He started to put a hand on Caroline's shoulder, but Caroline leaned up as much as she could and spit directly into Patrick's left eye.

"If you even think about touching me, I will kill you," Caroline hissed.

"Good luck. That's kind of hard for you to do right now," Patrick said.

"Do you honestly think that will keep me from finding a way to at the absolute least make your life a living hell?" Caroline said. "Do you?"

"We were married for twenty-one years," Patrick said. "That was a living hell."

"Well, welcome to the fucking club," Caroline said. "How do you think it was for me after you called up the asshole to your right and asked him to have somebody kill me?"

"I don't know," Patrick said. "I could care less."

"Leave her alone for now, Patrick," Lydecker said.

"If it isn't everybody's favorite bastard," Caroline sneered. "Did I finally send your sorry ass over the edge, Donald?"

"This isn't anything that you did not have coming to you, Caroline," Lydecker said.

"What a load of horseshit," Caroline said. "This is something that I definitely did not have coming. I'm so damn sorry that your precious ego is wounded because I busted you for what you did to my children and all of those other poor people with millions of people watching and hearing every word that I said, but I did not have this coming to me. On the other hand, you've got some major pain coming your way. What should I use, Donald, a knife or a gun? I'll be generous and let you pick."

Lydecker shook his head. "You won't be doing anything."

"As soon as I can get free, you bet your sorry ass that I will be doing something," Caroline said coldly. "Just watch me."

"You always had a way with words," Patrick said. He pointed to the security camera that was in the corner of the room. "We'll be doing exactly that."

"Just wait until Zack and Becky and Dennis and the others find out that you have me," Caroline said. "If Wes recognized either one of you, you both are toast."

"Even if 312 recognized me, the chances of which are pretty low, it won't be a problem," Lydecker said.

Caroline snorted. "You obviously remembered who Wes is and if you recognized him, then he'll definitely have recognized you. Wouldn't you think so?"

"We took precautions for the possibility that 599 and 405 find out about you," Lydecker said. "Even if they bring 452 in, they'll still be dead before they can get to you."

It took everything that Caroline had to keep her face neutral at the thought of losing her children, though she couldn't keep the venom out of her voice. "Don't you even think about harming my children. If for no other reason since obviously the fact that Zack and Becky are my children and I love them doesn't mean shit to you, think of how Chris would feel if he knew what you are willing to do to his nephew and niece. Give that some thought, will you?" Something occurred to her and she raised an eyebrow. "You'd be willing to kill off one of the children that you made that you consider to be a tribute to Lisa? You'd be willing to murder a part of your late wife, the one that you loved so much? I thought nothing could transcend the love that you feel for Lisa. Isn't that what you said at your wedding all those years ago?"

"As much as it hurts me, if that's what it comes to then I'll do it," Lydecker said. "Besides, 157 is still alive as far as I know. As long as one of them is still living, that's what matters to me."

"You are just amazing," Caroline said angrily. "Don't you dare fucking hurt either of my children and don't you dare hurt Max either."

"You can't do shit, sweetheart," Patrick said, grinning.

"Don't call me sweetheart," Caroline said. She took a deep breath. _Keep your cool. They want you to lose your temper._

"Or what? You'll spit in my eye again? I'm scared," Patrick remarked sarcastically. He wiped his left eye again. "I've got to admit that you have good coordination with your mouth."

Caroline smirked. "You're the one in the room who would know that."

Lydecker looked at his watch. "It's getting close to lunch time. We'll be back later." He waved at Patrick and the two men left the room.

Caroline sighed and stared up at the ceiling. _How am I going to get out of this one? They want to kill my children and it's pretty much a given that they'll kill me eventually. What am I going to do?_ She closed her eyes for a moment. _I might not see them again and Dennis...oh God, I might not see him again either!_ _Calm down. You might be tied up, but you're still alive and that counts for a heck of a lot. It's not over until the fat lady sings and I don't even hear her warming up._ She sighed. _Hurry up and find me, you guys! Come on!_

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and HoneyX5-452 for your reviews and support!


	25. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Anything yet?" Dennis asked as he drove his jeep around the outskirts of Seattle.

"Nothing," Becky murmurred from where she sat in the front seat. "Hold on a minute. I might have something. Zack, turn towards my direction and look straight ahead, about twenty degrees or so to your right."

Zack nodded from where he sat in the back seat and did what Becky had asked him to do. "Two hummers. Civilian model, but fairly stripped down. One is obviously a rental and the other has a forged license plate."

"Is it them?" Dennis wondered.

"I'm not sure," Becky said. "Zack and I are going to move in for a closer look. Stay here with the car. We'll be back soon."

Zack and Becky got out of the car and crept closer to the house. They made a few gestures and hid behind bushes on either side of the gravel pathway that ran between the sidewalk and the house and listened intently. "I hear them," Zack murmurred. "They're here."

"Me too," Becky said. She looked down for a moment. "Zack...how the hell are we going to keep this from Jenny? More likely than not one of us is going to end up killing her father and regardless of what he's done or what Jenny thinks of him now, he's still her father. How can we keep this from her?"

"I don't know," Zack replied honestly. "I'm feeling as gui--" He suddenly stopped and gestured for Becky to be silent as well and they focused their attention towards the house and the voices that they heard coming from the living room.

"She hasn't changed one bit, has she?" Patrick remarked dryly.

"Not a single bit," Lydecker said. "If we're lucky, we won't have to hold her for long. All we have to do is wait until 599 and 405 and possibly 452 come and try to retrieve her. As soon as they are out of the way, we'll take care of Caroline."

Both Zack and Becky's eyes narrowed and they glared murderously in Lydecker's direction. _I'd like to see you try, you fucking bastard,_ Becky thought.

"I hope it's not long," Patrick said. "She wasn't so bad when she wasn't aware of what I really was doing or when she was faking amnesia. I never loved her, but she was nice enough and a good cook and pretty good in bed." There was a brief pause. "How long do you think it will be until they try to get her?"

"It depends on if 312 stayed conscious long enough to recognize me," Lydecker said. "If he did, it could only be a few hours from now. Even if he didn't, I still expect that it won't take longer than a few days. Those kids are very efficient when they want to be and I can only imagine how efficient they would want to be in this situation."

"Good," Patrick said. "I've got a week before my flight back to Munich."

"Where did you fly into?" Lydecker asked.

"Not Seattle-Tacoma, don't worry," Patrick assured him. "I flew into LAX and then caught a puddle-jumper from there to Lake Tahoe and I rented a car there and drove up here. I figured that I'd surprise my sister there after this is done and before I get back to Germany. Hell, she's the only person in my family who's still talking to me, much less still on good terms with me."

They were silent for almost a minute before Lydecker started to talk again. "Have you talked to your daughter recently?"

"No, the last time that I talked to Jenny on the phone was before this whole mess happened," Patrick said. "I didn't want to push her into talking to me. She is only ten years old, Don."

"I know," Lydecker said. "What if when Caroline's body is found she thinks that you had something to do with it?"

"I don't know," Patrick said. "I know that we'll try to set it up to look like an accident, but if Jenny doesn't believe that and insists that I killed her mother, then I'll have to kill her. She's my only child, but to tell you the truth I never wanted to have kids at all. Caroline was the one who wanted children and I had to give in and have at least one kid with her or I'm pretty sure she would have tried to split. She was starting to get pretty antsy about by the time I gave in and we conceived Jenny. She's not a bad kid but if I never have to see her again it won't be any skin off of my nose."

Zack shook his head. _So much for any guilt about Jenny,_ Zack thought. He turned his head to look at his sister and he could tell that Becky was thinking exactly the same thing.

"Speaking of antsy, we should dig up something in the kitchen and feed Caroline before she gets really angry," Lydecker said.

"How are we going to be able to tell?" Patrick joked. He and Lydecker laughed and went into the kitchen.

Zack and Becky turned back to each other and made some more gestures and then split up and walked around a different side of the property, both of them careful to stay hidden. They carefully scanned the area before finally returning to Dennis twenty minutes later. "It's definitely them," Becky said. "And this isn't going to be easy."

Dennis nodded. "Isn't going to be easy how?"

"Getting into the house," Zack said. "Lydecker was smart. He set up a top security system, the kind of level of security that you would see at a government site."

"The kind that nobody's supposed to know about," Dennis guessed.

"Exactly," Becky said.

"Have either of you had any experience on the particular system that Lydecker used?" Dennis asked.

Zack shook his head. "I haven't."

"This particular one came onto the market around 2017," Becky said. "I trained on it and I've had mission experience with it, but it's incredibly tricky to get around and to deactivate. You need at least a team of three X-series, preferably at least one more, to successfully get around it and even then it will take a few hours. Lydecker knows that I have experience with the system. We figure that he's counting on myself talking Zack and Max through whatever they have to do while trying to handle my share at the same time."

"Which is impossible?" Dennis said.

"Nearly," Becky said. "It would take an incredible amount of luck for us to pull it off if that were the situation, which it obviously isn't."

"He does know us somewhat," Zack conceded. He smirked. "Unfortunately for him, he doesn't know us as well as he would like to think."

Becky nodded and pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Dix, it's me."

"Becky. What do you need?" Dix asked.

She filled him in on the situation. "Search the database for me, please. I'm going to need a team of at least two and preferably three to help me with the system."

"Coming right up," Dix said. Becky waited for a few moments before Dix spoke up again. "Got it. Will Alec, Biggs, and Jeff work for you?"

"They'll be perfect," Becky said.

"I'll call them for you," Dix said. "What's your location?"

Becky gave him the address. "Thanks, Dix."

"No problem," Dix said.

Becky disconnected and turned to Dennis, since he hadn't been able to hear both sides of the conversation. "Alec, Biggs, and Jeff should be on their way here soon and then the four of us will start in on the security."

"Good," Dennis said.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked.

Dennis shook his head but he tried to attempt a smile for his son and daughter's sakes. "Ask me that question again after we get your mother back safe."

"Yeah," Becky said. She took a deep breath.

"Keep it together," Zack said. "We will pull this off."

"I know we will," Becky said. "I'm just...I can't believe I'm this worried. I haven't known Caroline that long but...I think I'm really starting to think of her as my mother. It's not that I haven't thought of her as my mother before, but...you know?"

"I do," Zack said softly. "I feel the same way."

Dennis looked at his children. "Don't worry. It will work out. Trust me."

"I do," Zack said.

"So do I," Becky agreed. The three of them looked at each other and smiled before they settled down and waited for Alec, Biggs, and Jeff to arrive.

TBC


	26. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Dennis watched in almost awe as he saw the black-clad shadows that were Becky, Alec, Biggs, and Jeff move around, working silently and efficiently. _It shouldn't be long now. Hopefully, we'll be out of here with Caroline soon! _"What time is it?" he asked Zack.

"It's just after eight," Zack replied. "They've been working for about three hours now." He suddenly looked towards the house as the other four headed towards himself and Dennis. "Is everything set?"

"You guys are good to go in," Alec confirmed. "The system has been disabled and the security cameras that they've got set up inside the house are looped so you're clear inside the house as well. Just say the word."

"Good," Zack said. "Becky and I will go in through the front entrance. You three stay close in case of trouble and--"

"No." Dennis cut Zack off. "I'm going in with you."

"Dennis, no," Zack said, his voice just as commanding as his father's.

"I'm going," Dennis repeated. "Look, Zack, I'm not helpless. It's not two transgenics in there that are holding Caroline, it's Lydecker and Caroline's ex-husband. I spent several years in Special Forces just like they did. I'm just as well trained as they are, if not even better. Besides, they won't be expecting to see me in there with you. They'll be expecting you and Becky. The two of us can go in there from the front and Becky can sneak in through a side window. We have one of the other guys in the Jeep monitoring us through the laptop that they brought with them and the other two stay outside as backup if we need it." _I need to do something to help Caroline. I have to do something!_

"That's as good of a plan as anything that we can come up with," Biggs pointed out.

"It is," Zack agreed. "We'll go with your plan, Dennis."

"I'll monitor you guys from the Jeep," Jeff volunteered.

"We'll be your backup if you need it," Alec added.

"Then we're all set," Zack said. "Let's move out."

The others nodded and they spread out. Zack, Becky, and Dennis headed towards the front of the house, each of them checking their weapons along the way. "Are both of you ready?" Dennis asked.

"As I'll ever be," Becky said.

"I'm good to go," Zack said.

"So am I," Dennis said. He smiled. "Good luck. I love you both." Zack and Becky both looked a little overwhelmed, but they both gave Dennis a hug. Then the determined looks came back across their faces and Becky headed around to the side of the house and Zack and Dennis walked up to the front door.

* * *

"I can't tell you how much your visits brighten my day," Caroline said sarcastically to Patrick when he entered her room. "It's almost as much fun as it was back when we were married."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Patrick replied in the same tone of voice. "I was just hoping that we would have a talk."

Caroline snorted. "A talk? Yeah, right. We don't have squat to talk about, Patrick."

"Can't a man have a talk with his ex-wife?" Patrick said innocently.

"Um...no," Caroline said.

"I am so hurt," Patrick said.

"You want to talk? Fine. Let's talk," Caroline said. "Were you actually faithful to me at all at least during our marriage, never mind when we were dating before then?"

Patrick thought for a few moments and then shrugged. _I might as well be honest. She's going to be dead in at most a few days anyway._ "I never was faithful. I might have been for a few months about five years or so into our marriage, but that was only because I was between girlfriends at the time."

"What a fucking pig," Caroline said, disgusted. Patrick started to reply, but then Lydecker came into the room.

"We've got a problem," he said. "I saw somebody of about 599's height and size outside of the house."

Patrick swore as Caroline tried hard not to grin and laugh. "Did you get a good look at his face?"

"It's too dark for a positive identification," Lydecker said. "But I'm reasonably sure that it was 599. Who else could it have been?"

_It could be Dennis,_ Caroline thought. _Is he here? Did he find me?_

"He and 405 must have gotten through the security," Patrick said. "They must have caught some lucky break."

"Well, they are my children," Caroline couldn't help bragging.

"It doesn't matter," Lydecker said. He nodded to Patrick before taking a gun from the waistband of his jeans and holding it to Caroline's head while Patrick leaned down and untied the ropes that had been keeping Caroline restrained. He kept the gun pointing right at her as he yanked her up and held her arm tightly and smiled a little as Patrick pulled out a gun of his own and pointed it at Caroline. "None of you will be anything soon enough." He nudged Caroline with the gun. "We're going downstairs. No sudden moves."

"I won't," Caroline promised. She felt Lydecker's gun press against her left temple and Patrick's gun against the other side of her head and started to feel scared. _Oh my God, I can't get out of this. Zack, Dennis, whoever it is, help me!_

* * *

Becky silently opened the kitchen window and easily slid inside. She closed the window and crept towards the living room, not making even the slightest of sounds. _They're on the stairs. I count three pairs of footsteps._ She frowned and crouched down as she snuck into the room, staying close to the wall and in the shadows. _They've got guns drawn on her. This is going to be tight._ She stopped behind a couch and waited. _Come on, guys, let's go..._

* * *

Zack reached for the doorknob and silently turned it and pushed the door in and he and Dennis snuck inside the room. They moved forward when suddenly a light turned on in the room. Dennis blinked, but Zack didn't react at all. Patrick and Lydecker and Caroline stood at the other end of the room. Patrick stood to Caroline's right and Lydecker to her left, each of them with a gun pointing at Caroline's head and Lydecker's right arm wrapped around Caroline's neck to keep her still. Zack frowned. _He would always lecture us about what is bad strategy and what is the correct strategy and yet he's the one who's physically restraining her? She's a little taller than he is. Nelson should be holding her. Then again, if Lydecker isn't on top of his game, this could work out to our advantage._

"General Murphy," Lydecker said. He sounded a little bit surprised. "I didn't expect you to come along."

"I hate missing a good time," Dennis said coolly. He and Zack took out their guns and aimed, Zack at Lydecker and Dennis at Patrick. "Let her go now."

"Put those guns down now," Patrick countered.

"No," Zack said. "I haven't taken orders from anybody since I was thirteen years old and I don't plan on taking up the habit again anytime soon."

"599..." Lydecker said warningly.

"No," Dennis commanded.

"Oh, do you think you're his commander now, General?" Lydecker said. He raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm his father. There's a difference," Dennis said. "And I would never order my son to do anything, not in the way that you used to order him around. And if you want to talk about commanders and issuing orders, I believe that I rank both of you."

"Let her go," Zack said.

"No," Lydecker said. He pressed his gun closer to Caroline's temple and Caroline couldn't help trembling a little bit. "I think that you know me better than that, 599."

"And I think that you know me pretty well," Zack sneered. "At least you like to claim that you do. You know perfectly well that I can disarm you and get my mother away to safety."

"Can you?" Lydecker said. "You would be able to disarm me before I can get a shot off, but what about Colonel Nelson? At this close of a range, he would be able to make a lethal shot and Caroline will be dead before you have a chance to rescue her. And let's say that he doesn't shoot Caroline. What if he changes his mind and decides to shoot General Murphy instead? No matter how good you are, 599, there is no way that you will be able to pull this one off without losing at least one of your...parents."

Zack tried to control his temper. _Damnit, he's right! I fucking hate it when he's right. I wish I knew exactly where Becky was. _He took a deep breath. _That's right, Zack, you still have Becky hidden. You still have a shot!_

* * *

Caroline tried to control herself as well. _He's right! If I won't be the one to die, then Dennis will!_ The pain at the thought was unbearable. _There has to be a way for all of us to get out of this! There..._ Something she glimpsed out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she tried to glance in that direction without attracting suspicion from either Lydecker or Patrick. She saw what it was and managed to keep the expression on her face the same. A second gun was sticking out of the waistband of Lydecker's jeans. _Perfect._

* * *

Zack was still trying to think of a plan when his mother caught his attention. Though she still trembled, the look in Caroline's eyes changed from fear to determination. She began to blink rapidly and Zack caught it. He barely nodded and began to lightly scratch the side of his jeans with his free hand. He saw Lydecker smirk, obviously thinking that Zack was getting frustrated. _If you only knew, you asshole..._

* * *

Dennis kept his gun pointed steadily at Patrick and glanced over at Caroline again. He managed to keep the expression on his face the same as he noticed the change in Caroline's eyes. He briefly glanced over to Zack and figured out what was going on. _They're planning something. I know they are._ He nodded to himself. _Whatever you guys are planning, I hope it works!_

* * *

Lydecker smirked when he saw Zack apparently getting frustrated. "It's not easy when you're not in control, is it, 599? How many times have I told you when you were growing up that..." He paused when he heard a faint scratching noise on the other side of the room and sighed in annoyance. "Patrick, take care of the fucking mouse, will you please?"

"No problem," Patrick said. He slowly walked over to the other side of the room and peeked over the couch when suddenly he was flying across the room, hitting the opposite wall with a thud and landing on the floor near Zack unconscious. Lydecker swung his left arm around to shoot in Becky's direction, but Zack fired before he could, nailing Lydecker in the elbow and swinging him back around to the left. Caroline pushed him back farther, grabbed his other gun, aimed, and fired. Lydecker's body fell to the floor, a bullet hole in the side of his head.

Caroline looked down at Lydecker for a few moments, her expression unreadable, before she finally threw the gun to the floor. "Thank goodness that's finally over."

"I agree," Dennis said. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms, hugging her fiercely. "Thank goodness that you're safe. I thought I was going to lose you."

"Never," Caroline promised. "Never." Dennis nodded and then leaned down and kissed her passionately on the lips.

Becky came out from her spot behind the couch and walked over to Zack and watched her parents kissing and smiled. "Are we supposed to start gagging or applauding here?" Zack rolled his eyes, but he also smiled.

Dennis and Caroline broke their kiss and Caroline went over to her older children and gave them each a hug. "I was so worried about you two."

"We were worried too, Mom," Becky said.

"I'm happy that you're all right, Mom," Zack said. "Becky and Dad and I were out of our minds."

"So am I," Caroline said. She paused. "You called me Mom."

"And you called me Dad," Dennis said.

"Yeah. We did," Zack said. He smiled again. They hugged each other, finally truly feeling like a family. The moment was interrupted by faint moaning from Patrick's direction.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "He always knew how to spoil a good moment."

"I'm going to call the boys in," Becky said. She took her cell phone out of her pocket.

"I'll wake his ass up," Zack said. He walked over to Patrick and yanked him up into a sitting position. "Rise and shine, asshole."

Patrick groaned and opened his eyes. "What the hell is going on? Where's Don?"

"Over there," Caroline said, gesturing to Lydecker's body. "He's dead right now. I'm sorry if that inconvieniences you."

"Aww, shucks, we missed all of the fun," Alec said as he and Biggs and Jeff entered the house.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Becky said.

"What are you going to do to me now? Kill me?" Patrick sneered.

Becky leaned down to his level and looked at him right in the eye, her voice icy cold. "The last person who tried to set somebody in this family up to be killed ended up swallowing a bullet." She smacked him again, knocking him out.

"Is he going to be swallowing a bullet?" Dennis asked.

Zack shook his head. "No. He'll swallow something else." He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Jondy. Is Wayne available for the next few days?" He paused. "Okay, then, get Maggie and find another person or two to join you guys." He nodded. "Yeah, exactly. Lake Tahoe. Alec, Biggs, and Jeff will fill you in on the rest." He disconnected the phone and put it away. "He'll be taken care of."

Biggs nodded. "We'll take care of the clean up and disposal here. You guys get out of here. We've got things covered."

"Thank you," Caroline said. She, Dennis, Zack, and Becky left the house together.

TBC


	27. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max left her and Zack's bedroom, brushing her hair out of her face. She frowned a little when she saw Becky sitting on the living room couch. "I thought that you weren't coming over until tonight to have dinner with us."

"Nope, you're thinking of last week," Becky said. "It's lunch today." She stretched.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Max said. "Nice shirt. Is that the one that you said that Caroline bought for you for your birthday a few weeks ago?"

"No, this one is my birthday present from Maggie," Becky said.

Max smirked. "What, your younger siblings didn't give you any presents that were…appropriate for you?"

"Very funny," Becky remarked. "For the record, Kevin did get me a new switchblade, but he got it for me because the handle was my favorite color and he knew that I'd also love the design on it. It really is pretty cool. I've got it on me now." She took the knife out of her pocket and handed it to Max. "Check it out."

"I've got to admit, this is some quality work," Max said as she critically examined the knife. She flicked the blade out and examined it before she flicked it back in and handed the knife back to Becky. "That's a nice piece. Did Kevin get it legit or off the black market or by way of the five finger discount?"

"I don't know," Becky said. She shrugged. "He didn't tell me and I didn't ask." She looked around the room. "Where's Zack? Isn't this his day off this week?"

"It is. He--:"

"—got called into a meeting," Zack finished as he entered the apartment. He walked over to Max and gave her a kiss. "Got to change."

Becky raised an eyebrow. "Change? You're wearing a dress shirt and jeans. It's not like you're wearing a tuxedo or even a suit." She caught the paperweight that Zack had thrown at her and immediately flung it back at him. Max intercepted it before it could connect with Zack.

"Yes, change. It's a simple concept," she said.

"You know, I have a mother to tell me things like this now," Becky said. She looked amused.

"Yes, and I need the practice," Max said sweetly. "And judging by the mood that you're in this afternoon, I'm going to get plenty of it. My goodness, Becky, you're starting to border on Alec."

"Hey, even I have my days," Becky said. "I should get it out of my system before I start my job in two months." She sighed.

"What course or courses will you be teaching? Do you know that yet?" Zack asked from the bedroom.

"Yeah, I'll be teaching two sections of Freshman Composition. One of them is on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at nine in the morning and the other one is on the same days but it starts at eleven in the morning. I'll also be teaching a section of Modern Literature on Wednesday afternoons." Becky shrugged. "It should be interesting."

"Teaching other people your age? Good luck," Max said.

Becky snorted. "You're telling me."

There was a knock at the door. Max turned towards it. "Come on in." The door opened and Dennis and Caroline walked inside. "Hey, you guys. Great to see you."

"It's great to see the two of you as well," Caroline said. She hugged both Max and Becky. "Where's Zack?"

"I'm right here," Zack said, leaving the bedroom. He went over to his parents and gave each of them a hug. "Great to see you."

"We stopped by because we've got some news that we had to tell you," Dennis admitted.

Becky tensed reflexively. "Good news or bad?"

Caroline thought about it. "Some of it is definitely good and some of it is open to interpretation."

"Let's hear the news that's open to interpretation first," Zack said.

"Our leaves officially end tomorrow," Dennis said. "We received notice of our next official postings today." He shook his head a little. "We're definitely leaving Seattle, both of us. I'm being transferred back to the Pentagon to resume my work there. Caroline's actually going to be transferring there with me. She has been reassigned to my staff."

"Reassigned or requested?" Max said with a knowing smirk.

"I can't help it if Caroline's an extremely qualified and competent officer," Dennis said. He couldn't help grinning. "Hey, if I'm madly in love with her…" Becky laughed, but then grew quiet.

"Well…when are you guys leaving for D.C.?" she finally asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Caroline said. "Our flight leaves at seven."

Zack nodded and bit his lip and then took a deep breath. "So, what's the news that's definitely good?"

Caroline grinned. "I'm being promoted to Brigadier General."

"Finally!" Becky said. She gave Caroline a big hug. "It's about damn time, Mom! Congratulations!"

Zack also grinned and gave his mother a hug. "Congratulations, Mom. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you so much," Caroline said.

"We were going to go out to lunch," Max said. "Do you guys want to come with us?"

"We'd love to," Caroline said. She paused. "Actually, can we make it dinner so that Jenny can join us?" She turned to Becky and gave her a slight smirk. "And Jeff can join us as well."

"Mom!" Becky said. She blushed.

"Wow," Zack said. He looked mildly surprised. "I don't think I've ever seen Becky blush like that before."

Becky recovered quickly. "Yeah, it's a good thing that we've got photographic memories because you will never see that happen again."

"We should get going," Dennis said. "We've got a lot of packing to do."

"I'll help," Zack said. "Becky, you in?"

"Sure," Becky said. "I'll call and see if anybody else wants to give a hand."

"Will you be okay by yourself, Maxie?" Zack asked.

"I'm only pregnant. I'll be fine," Max said. She smiled and gave Zack a kiss. "I was thinking about stopping in and seeing Krit and those guys at the shop anyway. It's all good."

"Let's get started then," Becky said. The five of them left the apartment.

TBC

Notes: I'm sorry it took me so long to update this fic. Thank you so much to MoonAngel23 and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	28. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything that has to do with the show and anything else that does not belong to myself belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Zack, Becky, Dennis, Caroline, and Jenny walked through the airport early the next morning. None of them looked to be too happy and Jenny even looked like she was half asleep. They remained quiet when they reached the gate that Dennis, Caroline, and Jenny's flight would be leaving from and sat down. Jenny was the one who finally broke the silence. "I'm tired, Mom."

"It's okay, sweetie," Caroline said. "Go ahead and close your eyes. I'll wake you up when it's time for us to get on the plane." Jenny nodded and closed her eyes and fell asleep. Caroline turned to the others. "I haven't been in D.C. since the last time that I visited my father here before he retired while Congress was still in session."

"I've been there a few times," Zack said. "I was just passing through on my way to check up on one of the others. I never took the time to look around and visit any sites or anything like that."

"You should do that when you get the chance to come up and visit us," Dennis suggested. "I think you might enjoy it."

"Maybe," Zack agreed.

Becky looked out the massive windows out at the runway. "I've flown on commercial planes a few times. Most of the time I went out for missions I went out either on a van or by some other form of military transport, but there were a few times when my cover required me to fly on a regular commercial flight." She made a face. "The last time I had to do that was enough to last me while. The turbulence didn't bother me, it was the stinky asshole who kept on leering at me the whole flight that got on my nerves. Fortunately for me, he was sitting between me and one of the X5s that was also on the mission and he pissed off the X5 even more, so 482 slipped something into the bastards drink and he slept like a baby." She saw the look that Zack gave her. "What? 482 was a field med. He had sleeping medication on him and less control over his temper than I do over mine."

"I'm not going to say anything," Zack said.

"I've wanted to do worse to some people," Caroline said. "I remember one time when I was flying back home to Ohio from West Point for my summer break that I got stuck sitting next to the most obnoxious person on the planet. He wasn't interested in me, thank goodness, but he kept talking and talking and talking and he just wouldn't shut up. He kept going on about how he loved redheads and how he loved fast cars and his favorite foods and his most recent bowel movement and just everything and by the time the plane landed in Columbus I was at the point of strangling him. I remember getting my carry-on from the overhead compartment when he said to me right in my ear about how he and his parents were splitting up the family business, when I turned to him and calmly, and I see how you boys are looking at me and I really was being as calm as I could have been at that point, and I told him where I went to school and how among other things that I had been trained to properly use assault rifles and how I was on the verge of earning my black belt in Karate. He got the hint and shut up."

"Like mother, like daughter," Zack said.

"Proud of it, bro," Becky said, smirking.

Dennis shook his head. "I swear, sometimes the two of you remind me of these two brothers who lived next to me when I was growing up back in Baltimore. I was friends with the older brother and every time that I would go over to their house to play, he and his younger brother would be arguing and being smart with each other exactly the way that you and Becky are with each other. It's remarkable."

"You should have seen me and my older brothers when we were growing up," Caroline said. "If you thought that we were bad when we went over to Columbus a few months ago, then you should have been there thirty years ago. We would drive our parents crazy sometimes."

"You've been around us when we've had the whole gang together here," Zack said. "Rena and Syl have always gone at each other a good portion of the time, even when we were kids and they haven't changed. Jace and Jondy are the same way. Zane, Krit, and Wayne can really go at it with each other but most of the time, they're the best of friends and teaming up usually against Max, Jondy, and Rena. Either way, they're driving me nuts. Brin's probably the most stable of all of us. It takes a lot to get her riled up, but it's not pretty when it does happen."

"I don't know, I thought it was pretty funny when Wayne got Brin worked up that one time," Becky said. She snickered. "I've seen some verbal ass-kickings, but the one that Brin gave to Wayne was absolutely brilliant and the look on Wayne's face was just priceless. It made my week."

"Welcome to Alaska Airlines flight 1091, non-stop service to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C," the flight attendant standing at the desk by the gate said cheerfully. "We will now begin boarding all first-class passengers and all people with disabilities. Thank you and have a nice day."

"What row are you guys sitting in?" Zack asked.

Dennis pulled out his boarding pass. "We're in row 20. I think that we're sitting over the wing."

"Jenny was really happy when I told her that," Caroline said. "Her favorite places to sit on an airplane are the seats that look out onto the wings."

Becky gave a quick look to make sure that Jenny was still sleeping before she turned back to her parents and her older brother. "Mom, have you heard anything about the loser's body yet?"

"No, I haven't been notified yet," Caroline said. "It's only been less than a week."

"We did hear that Patrick said that he was going to surprise his sister after…" Zack shook his head. "If his sister didn't know that he was going to visit her, then she wouldn't have any reason to notify the authorities to go look for him. They probably won't go searching for him until after he misses his flight back to Germany. He said that would have been a week from when we got you back, so it shouldn't be long before this gets officially wrapped up."

Caroline snorted. "And even if she did know, Veronica's not the sharpest tool in the shed." She saw the look that Dennis gave her and she shrugged. "Okay, Veronica's probably not really that stupid, but she and I never got along. Patrick's parents loved me, but Veronica never did. I actually got a letter from her that Patrick's parents mailed to me for her because I never gave her my Seattle address and she basically blasted the hell out of me. Good for her. If I did anything to make that bitch use more than one brain cell, then I have no reason to complain."

"Hey, you'll never have to see her again," Becky said helpfully. "You don't have to go to his funeral if you don't want to."

"It would be too weird for me if I did," Caroline agreed.

"Attention passengers, we will now begin boarding rows 25 to 30 for Alaska Airlines flight 1091," the flight attendant announced.

"Damn, they're going to be boarding our row in a few minutes," Dennis said. "Should you wake Jenny up now?"

"That's probably a good idea," Caroline agreed. She gently shook her youngest child. "Jenny, sweetheart, it's time to wake up. They're going to be boarding our row in a few minutes."

Jenny yawned and looked at Caroline. "Okay. I'm still tired."

"Don't worry about it," Caroline assured her. "The plane ride is just under five hours long. You'll have plenty of time to get more sleep."

"Okay," Jenny said. She picked up her backpack. "I didn't forget my mp3 player, did I?"

"Check your backpack right now to see if it's there," Caroline suggested. "If you left it back at the house, then Zack or Becky will find it there and mail it to you."

"I got it," Jenny said in relief a moment later after checking her backpack. "Phew."

"I thought that you were going to sleep on the plane," Becky teased.

"Not all of the time," Jenny said.

"Attention, we will now begin boarding rows 20 to 24 for Alaska Airlines flight 1091," the flight attendant said.

All five of them slowly stood up. "I guess this is it," Caroline said. She reached over to Becky and gave her a big hug. "I am going to miss you so much, Becky. Good luck with your job, don't take anything from those kids if they give you a hard time, and don't you dare forget to call or write to us."

"I promise," Becky said. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too," Caroline said. She gave Zack a hug. "Good luck with everything, Zack. I know that we can't get back here for Thanksgiving and you guys can't fly out east either, but don't you dare forget to come out next year and don't forget to bring that grandchild of mine with you."

"As long as you promise to fly out here when he or she is born," Zack said. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Zack," Caroline said.

Dennis hugged his only son. "Be good, Zack. I'm so proud of you. I love you."

"I love you too, Dad," Zack said.

Dennis moved to Becky and gave her a hug. "I love you, Becky. I'm proud of you, too. Take care."

"I will," Becky promised. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too," Dennis said.

Zack and Becky both turned to Jenny. "I guess we'll probably be seeing you maybe this summer or next fall at the absolute latest," Becky said. "You won't give Mom too much grief until then, will you?"

"I won't," Jenny promised. "I'm really going to miss you guys."

"We're really going to miss you, too," Zack said. He and Becky each gave Jenny a hug and then they watched as their parents and their half-sister got in line and went to board their plane. They stood there silently for several minutes until they finally turned around and left the terminal and headed back to Zack's car, where they just sat for a few minutes.

"I can't believe this is hurting this much," Becky finally said.

"Neither can I," Zack said. "I'm glad it is hurting this much, though."

"Me too," Becky said. She knew what he meant. She took a deep breath. "We should be getting back into the city."

"Yeah," Zack said. He turned the key in the ignition and drove off.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, Kelzaa, jracklesfan77, and Jade Hunter for their reviews and support! Jade Hunter, thanks for catching that mistake. I did get confused and I went back and corrected it. Kelzaa, at this point in the fic, Max is four months pregnant. Thank you all so much again!


	29. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"So, what do you want to do for Christmas, huh? It's only a week-and-a-half away," Jace said to Little Max as she lifted her out of her high chair one morning. "Do you want to have a nice big tree with lots of ornaments, huh? Maybe we could go visit Aunt Max and Uncle Zack or maybe Aunt Syl and Uncle Krit, what do you think about that?"

"All good, Mommy," Little Max said.

Jace laughed. "Yeah, they do all sound good. Well, Mommy doesn't have to be in at work for another hour so we can figure this out." The phone rang. "Hold that thought, sweetie."

"Huh?" Little Max said.

"Never mind," Jace said. She set Little Max down in her playpen and picked up the phone. "Just a second." She held her hand over the receiver. "Just stay there and play until Mommy finishes talking to the person on the phone, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," Little Max said.

"Thank you, Maxie," Jace said. She lifted her hand off of the receiver. "I'm sorry about that. Can I help you?"

"Is this Jace? This is Caroline Robinson, Zack's mom."

"Oh," Jace said, surprised. "Hello. Did Zack give you my number?"

"He did," Caroline said. "Jace, I've got some news for you."

"What kind of news?" Jace asked.

"Lately, a good portion of the work that I've been doing here has involved trying to track down people associated with Manticore," Caroline explained. "People who had been involved with the program at some point or another and went into hiding either after voluntarily leaving the operation or after getting away from the fire. Today, we were finally able to track down a lab tech by the name of Victor Ortiz. Zack told me that he was your boyfriend before you escaped from Manticore, right?"

Jace's eyes widened in surprise. _Victor? She--they found my Victor? This can't be real! Please let it really be him..._ "Yes, that was--is my boyfriend and Little Max's father. Where is he? How is he?"

"He's living in a small town in Mexico close to the Mexico-Belize border on the opposite end of the country from where you had been living prior to your own return to the United States," Caroline said. "I'm planning on going down there personally in a few days to assure him of his safe return to the U.S. As for how he's doing, all reports seem to indicate that he is quite well."

"Thank goodness," Jace said, sighing in relief. "Can I go with you? Please? I know that this is official military business, but can I please go with you?"

"I wish that you could, Jace," Caroline said. "But the fact that it will be official business is exactly why I can't bring you along with me. I can bring any kind of messages that you want to give to him. Just let me know."

"I will," Jace said. She thought quickly. "Do you know exactly when you'll be leaving for Mexico?"

"Three days," Caroline said. "Why?"

"I need to express mail you something to give to Victor," Jace explained. "Is that okay?"

"That will be fine," Caroline said. "Do you have a pen and paper handy?"

Jace looked around and spotted a pen and a pad of paper on the coffee table and grabbed it. "I do now."

"Send what you want me to give to Victor to this address when you have it ready," Caroline said. She gave Jace an address.

"Got it," Jace said.

"I need to get going," Caroline said. "Congratulations, Jace."

"Thank you so much," Jace said. "Honestly, I just can't thank you enough."

"You're welcome," Caroline said. "Good-bye."

"Good-bye," Jace said. She hung up the phone and cheered and went over to Little Max's playpen and picked her up and spun her around. "Guess what, sweetie?"

"What is it, Mommy?" Little Max wondered.

"Remember what I told you about Daddy?" Jace said. "Remember how I told you that Daddy's work had to take him away from us but as soon as he was done with it, then he would be heading right home?"

"Yes, Mommy," Little Max said.

"Well, I just got a phone call from Uncle Zack's mommy and she just gave me some very good news," Jace said. "Daddy's almost done with his work and he'll be coming home very soon! Isn't that great?"

"Yay!" Little Max cheered. "Christmas?"

"Maybe," Jace said. She smiled. "Daddy just might be home in time for Christmas. Won't that be wonderful? You and me and Daddy all together for the holidays."

"It will be fun," Little Max said.

"Yes it will," Jace said. "Well, little lady, I need to finish getting you ready for day care and then I need to get ready to go to work."

"Make something for Daddy today," Little Max said.

"You want to make something for Daddy when you're at day care today?" Jace repeated. Little Max nodded and Jace grinned. "I think that's a wonderful idea, sweetie. Come on. It's time to get ourselves ready for the day." She carried her daughter to the little girl's room, still smiling. _He's finally going to be home! What an early Christmas present._

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to MoonAngel23 and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	30. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Female Trouble," "…And Jesus Brought A Casserole," and "Designate This."

Caroline drove her borrowed Jeep down the dusty road, carefully looking around until she had finally found the small house that she had been looking for. She pulled up to it and turned the engine off and got out and looked around the area for a few moments. _I'm not surprised that he stayed hidden for as long as he did. This place is so out of the way it's almost ridiculous._ She adjusted her grip on the folder that she was carrying and walked up to the front door and rang the bell. A few moments later, the door opened and a man in his early thirties stood there. He looked at Caroline's uniform and looked like he was going to panic, but Caroline smiled reassuringly at him. "Victor Ortiz?"

"Yes, that's me," the man said nervously. "Can I help you?"

"Brigadier General Caroline Robinson, United States Military," Caroline said. "May I come in?"

"Yes," Victor said. He stepped aside and let Caroline enter the house. He gestured to the small couch and waited for her to sit down before he sat down next to her. "What is this about?"

"Mr. Ortiz, you are an American, correct?" Caroline said.

"Yes, ma'am," Victor said. "I've been living in Mexico since March of 2020."

Caroline nodded. "You were employed as a laboratory technician at the military research and training facility known as Project Manticore, more specifically at the project's facility in Gillette, Wyoming, from September of 2018 to March of 2020, about the time that you said you came here to Mexico. You were released from your job when the facilities were consolidated following the destruction of the DNA lab and according to our records, you were told that there was a possibility that you would be receiving a similar job at a Veteran's hospital near Washington, D.C. and that you were to wait until you heard back from the government within the following two months. Is this correct?"

"It's correct," Victor admitted. "I didn't believe the job offer. When I worked at Manticore, I would hear rumors through the grapevine about people, fellow lab technicians and doctors and other staff who would 'disappear' after deciding to leave Manticore. I think you know what I mean by disappear, General."

"I do," Caroline said. "Mr. Ortiz, are you aware of the events that have occurred within the last eighteen months concerning Manticore and especially the transgenics?"

Victor shook his head. "We don't hear much here. We're so out of the way that I feel lucky just to have electricity at all. What has happened?"

"To put it mildly, a lot," Caroline said. "Three months after the DNA lab's destruction, in June of 2020, Manticore was burned down to the ground because at the time, Eyes Only was apparently close to uncovering their location, which was just outside of Seattle, Washington, and the committee in charge decided that he was too close for comfort and ordered Director Renfro, who'd taken over the reigns of the entire project from Colonel Lydecker, to enact their fail safe policy of cauterizing the site, locking all the transgenics in their cells so that they would die in the blaze. However, one of the transgenics, name Max Guevara and designation X5-452, was able to let the transgenics loose and most of them were able to escape. About five months ago, Ms. Guevara, along several other transgenics, uncovered a plot by a cult to unleash a virus into the general population and were able to stop them. As a show of their gratitude, the government opened negotiations with the transgenics and soon after, granted full citizenship and rights to every Manticore transgenic in the world." She smiled.

"You look pretty happy about it yourself," Victor observed. "Why?"

Caroline's smile never left her face as she reached into a pocket and pulled out a photograph and handed it to Victor. "My son and my older daughter. They're both transgenic." She explained to him her story. "And through my son, I was able to get in touch with somebody and give you this." Victor handed Caroline back the photo of Zack and Becky and Caroline reached back into her pocket and handed Victor another photograph. He took it and his eyes widened.

"Jace," he said softly. "I never...I never thought that I would see her again." He looked at the photo again. "Who is that little girl with her in the picture?"

"Your daughter," Caroline said. "Her name is Maxine, Little Max for short, and she's nineteen months old now. I don't know if Jace had a chance to tell you why she disappeared, but that was why. She realized that she was pregnant and she had to get away from Manticore before they found out about it."

"She didn't tell me, but I think she was going to," Victor said, recalling the last time he had seen Jace. "We had snuck away to meet each other because she said she had something that she needed to tell me. We met and she started to say something but then my beeper went off and I was needed back in the labs immediately and I got stuck there all night. The next day, she went on that mission and she never came back." He wiped his eyes. "Where are they now?"

"In Seattle," Caroline said. "Jace works for the security company that my son help set up with a fellow transgenic. Oh, and before I forget, turn over the photograph. Jace's number is written down on there."

"I--thank you," Victor said. He turned the picture over and stared at the phone number that was written down on it for a few seconds before he looked back up at Caroline. "My phone's out of service right now, can I...?"

"Be my guest," Caroline said. She held out her cell phone and Victor took it and dialed Jace's number.

"Hello?"

Victor's heart jumped into his throat. "Jace? Sweetheart, is it really you?"

"Victor? Oh my God! I can't believe you're all right! I..." Jace had to pause. "Where are you right now?"

"At my house in Mexico," Victor said. "General Robinson is here. She let me use her cell phone to call you. I can't believe that you're fine! I was so worried after I found out that you went AWOL on that mission." He wiped his eyes. "I can't believe...I can't believe that I'm a father! How is our little girl? Is she doing fine."

"She's doing perfect," Jace said. "I named her after my sister Max. I told you about her, remember? Anyway, when I went on that mission to Seattle, Max helped me get away from Lydecker and everybody and got me down to Mexico. I was living near the border between Mexico and Arizona until I came to Seattle last March and Max...Little Max, our daughter, is nineteen months old now and she's doing so well she's walking and talking and potty trained and she is so smart. When I had her checked out after I got to Seattle, I was told that my transgenic genes were dominant in her so she'll be showing more and more of them as she grows up and she looks like you and...you're going to love her, Victor."

"I already do," Victor said. "And I still love you."

"I love you, too," Jace whispered. There was a pause before Jace started to speak again. "Speaking of which, guess who wants to say hi to her daddy?"

Victor grinned. "I'd love to talk to her."

"Hi, Daddy," Little Max said.

"Hey, big girl! How have you been?" Victor said happily.

"Good, Daddy. Mommy good too," Little Max said.

"That's great," Victor said. "Do you have any playmates?"

"Yeah, but they're younger," Little Max said. "I have a cousin but he's baby. Gonna have new cousin in Spring. Twins are too little to play with me right now. Mommy says that I have older cousin in Canada who's like me."

"That's nice," Victor said. "Don't worry, princess, it won't be long before your cousins will be old enough to play with you. You can tell me all about them when I come home, okay?"

"Okay," Little Max said. "When you coming home, Daddy?"

"Soon, I promise," Victor said. "I need to take care of one or two more things, but I promise that I'll be home very soon."

"Okay, Daddy," Little Max said. There was another pause and then Jace got back on the line.

"She's looking forward to having you home," Jace said.

"I'm looking forward to being home with the two of you," Victor said. "I'll let you know the exact date of when I'll be arriving back in the States. General Robinson said that you're living in Seattle, right?"

"Right," Jace said. "I'll see you soon. I love you, Victor."

"I love you too, Jace," Victor said. "Good-bye." He disconnected and handed the phone back to Caroline. "Thank you so much."

"It's my pleasure," Caroline said. "As for when you can return to the United States, you can leave as soon as you settle your affairs here. How long do you think that will take?"

Victor thought about it. "It shouldn't take too long. Maybe a week. I should definitely be in Seattle before Christmas." He grinned. "Christmas with my family."

Caroline smiled. "I know the feeling." She retrieved a card out of a pocket and gave it to Victor. "The number for that cell phone. I'll be in the area for an additional two days before my return to D.C. If you need anything, you can reach me at any time."

"Thank you," Victor said. "For everything."

"Like I said, it was my pleasure," Caroline said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Victor said, grinning.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to Yeoman1000 and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support! Yeoman1000, members of Alec's unit will play a part in it. Biggs and Sasha are already big players in this fic and there are a few others in their unit that are in Seattle/Terminal City and more will show up before the fic is over. Watch for that and much more! Thank you all so much again!


	31. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Nervous?" Maggie said to Becky a few weeks later as Becky practically flew around their apartment, getting ready for her first day at her new job.

"Not really. I'm only starting a job where I'll be teaching people my own age," Becky said sarcastically. "It's not like I'll be trying to parachute out of a helicopter in hurricane-type conditions on my way to rescue P.O.W.s or leading a group through a desert to wipe out some gun runners or anything fun like that. Nope, I've got to deal with a room full of ordinary college students."

"Cheer up," Maggie said. "Wayne aside, I've got to deal with a boatload of arrogant doctors who think that despite the fact that I'm a transgenic and I've got an IQ in the 180s I don't know shit because I'm only seventeen and I'm female. I'll bet you that I've got the more aggravating group of people to deal with at work." She took a look at the clock. "Speaking of which, we've both got to get going if either of us wants to be on time. Do you need a lift?"

"No, I need a car," Becky deadpanned. She grinned when Maggie laughed. "In the mean time, Alec is actually going to be giving me a lift to work. The art department is looking to purchase a painting or two from the gallery that Alec works for and he's got the honor of being the one to negotiate a deal." She reached down and picked up her new messenger bag and slung the strap over her shoulder.

"Couldn't let go of the Jam Pony days, huh?" Maggie teased.

"These things beat briefcases any day," Becky said. "I'll see you later." She turned and left the apartment and the building and walked through Terminal City to where Alec was standing near the main gates talking with an X4. "Hey, I'm ready to get going. Thanks for the ride."

"Not a problem," Alec said. He said good-bye to the man that he'd been talking to and he and Becky left Terminal City and walked over to his car and they got in. Alec started the car and pulled into traffic. "This is going to be interesting for you today, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Becky said. "Nothing like teaching a group of kids my own age the basics of how to write a paper." She rolled her eyes. "Lucky me."

Alec couldn't resist. "You weren't complaining about the classes that you're going to teach back when you were told what they were."

"Very funny," Becky said. "I'm just nervous. Yes even me, the Ice Queen herself, is nervous about her first day at a job that could conceivably become a career." She shrugged. "I guess it's understandable. It just annoys the hell out of me."

"I guess I can understand that," Alec said. They were silent for the rest of the drive there. Alec pulled into a parking lot and the two of them got out of the car. "I believe that this is where we say good-bye." He grinned wickedly. "Are you sure that you'll be okay walking to the English building all by yourself like a big girl?"

Becky rolled her eyes. "Yes, Alec, I'll be just fine." She turned to walk off in the direction of the English building only to stop short to avoid running into somebody else. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, right," the other woman snapped. "Why don't you grow a brain stem while you're here getting an education?" She paused. "Do I know you?" Becky scrutinized the other woman. She was about Zack's age, an inch or two shorter than Becky, had blond hair was a shade or two darker than Becky's and Zack's, and she had brown eyes that seemed to be set in a permanent glare. Becky started to reply, but was cut off.

"Well, look who we have here," Alec said, grinning at the angry expression on the older woman's face. "Hello, 908. Long time, no see. Where have you been all this time?"

"Around," 908 said. "Why the hell are you even here?"

"I've got business here," Alec said. He frowned momentarily. "I'm guessing that you've checked in at Terminal City and have been given your birth certificate and all of that crap, so why wasn't I notified like most of the present C.O.s…" He trailed off and nodded. "…unless Melanie was the one who was checking people in that day and helped get your papers processed, am I right."

908 smirked. "You're right. It's great to be in contact with Melanie and Diane again. You, on the other hand, can just as soon go jump off of a cliff for all I give a shit."

"You haven't changed much," Becky observed.

"Now I remember you," 908 said. She made a face. "The famous X6-405."

"The one and only," Becky said coolly. "I'm going by Becky these days. Do you have a name? The only ones that I know are the ones that Sasha, you know, 121, has called you in casual conversation."

908 grimaced at the mention of Sasha's designation. "Great, and if she's around then that means that 511 is somewhere nearby as well. Fantastic. And not that it's any of your business, but my name is Brandi."

"Well, my name is Alec and it's been _such_ a pleasure to see you again, Bran," he said.

"It's Brandi, not Bran," 908 said.

"Got it, Bran," Alec said. "I'll see you guys around." He walked off.

"What are you doing here?" Becky asked. "On this campus."

"I have a job in the bursar's office," Brandi said. "I'm pretty much in charge over there. What about you?" She smirked. "What could you be doing here, 405? Cafeteria?"

"Nope, professor in the English department," Becky said. "And the name is Becky. See you." She walked off, shaking her head. _What a bitch. I hope Alec's warning Sasha that she's around because I can only imagine the potential fireworks there!_ She made her way to the English building and went inside and to the classroom and took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing. You can do this._ She opened the door and walked inside. "Good morning, everybody."

"Who the hell are you and where's the professor?" one of the guys near the front asked.

"To answer both of your questions, I am the professor," Becky said. "To start with, you guys can call me Professor Murphy." She turned her head so that she was looking at the students that were seated in one corner of the room. "And yes, I am a transgenic, which means that you will not be able to get away with shit in this class. I can hear everything and see everything." She smirked a little. "Yes, you in the second row, I'm flattered that you think that I'm hot, but I do have a boyfriend and if he heard what you had just said about me, he wouldn't be all that thrilled."

"So…how old are you, anyway?" another student asked.

"Nineteen," Becky said. "So, if things had been a little bit different, I'd be sitting where you guys are now."

"Hey, I know who you are!" another guy said. "You're one of those two chicks that had their pictures on TV almost a year ago!"

"Yeah, that's right," Becky admitted. "I made a bad guy angry and his way of showing his appreciation was to expose my ass." Most of the students laughed and Becky grinned. _Maybe this will be better than I thought._ "Okay, I'm going to hand out a copy of…"

TBC

Notes: Just so everybody knows, from now on I'll be following the new rule here and I'll be thanking reviewers (signed ones, at least) through PMs. I'm sorry I took so long to update this fic!


	32. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that have to do with the show (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Art Attack."

A few days later…

"Okay, I think that we should be wrapping things up here," Rena said, laughing. "I would like to thank all of you—"

"Yeah, all ten of us including yourself and the bride-to-be," Max teased.

Rena stuck her tongue out at her. "—for coming out to celebrate Sasha's final day as what ordinaries would define to be a free woman. For those of you that can't stick around to help with clean up, I'll see you at the wedding tomorrow."

Becky stood up. "I'm sorry that I can't help out, but I have a million papers to correct already. Trust me, my students are not the only ones who didn't want to have homework assigned to them on the first day of class. It's a good thing that I only need about a fourth of the sleep that a normal person does because I'm starting to think that you'd need to sleep like Max, Jondy, or Karen would to be able to keep up with grading assignments."

"It's okay, go back to your place and have fun with your paperwork," Max teased.

"Maybe I'll pop in something funny to watch on my DVD player while I'm grading," Becky said. She glanced quickly at Max, her eyes slightly apprehensive. "Logan's funeral usually gets a good laugh out of me."

"I still can't believe that you not only kept the recording Maggie made of the funeral, allegedly for security purposes, but that you made copies of it for Zack, Alec, and your sibs," Max said. She shook her head. "How old are you, Becky, five?"

"I know how iffy you feel on the subject occasionally, but even you have to admit that when you look past the fucker that was being put six feet under, the whole thing was hysterical," Becky said. "You even said so yourself when Maggie played the recording for us when she got back from the funeral! What were your exact words, Max, was it 'I can't believe how the old hag is bawling after how I saw her at her kid's wedding reception?'"

Max pretended to glare at Becky, though her eyes were sparking with humor and the corner of her mouth twitched upward. "Did you say that you had to grade homework?"

"I'll see you guys later," Becky said. She left.

"Sometimes I can't believe that's the same girl that I use to see around Manticore way back when," Jace said. "The X5 command team in Gillette used to have a running joke bet to see what would happen first: Becky cracking something close to a smile around anybody other than her unit or Lydecker showing up one day in a skirt. She was so cold and serious so much of the time."

"I wish Brandi had changed," Sasha grumbled. "I had the distinct pleasure of running into her and her two sidekicks in the lobby yesterday. Same attitude, same lack of brains, and on my part, the same urge to beat the living shit out of her. If I wasn't four-and-a-half months pregnant and outnumbered three-to-one, I definitely would have reminded her which of the two of us was the better at hand-to-hand combat."

"I remember seeing her once at Manticore after the facilities had been consolidated after the DNA lab had been blown," Brin recalled. "I think it was the day that Alec had gotten back from that quickie solo and had been assigned to me in the program and Brandi was passing me in the hall that afternoon and she had gotten bumped into by accident by an X8 that was passing by in the hallway and the little speed demon was already halfway down the hall by the time that she turned around and she looked like she was about to explode but instead she just hit me with the mission folder that she had been holding, screamed at me to go fuck myself, and then went off down the hall."

"Ah, that must have been right after Renfro told her that she couldn't participate in that breeding program because she was a fucking psycho," Sasha said. "Oh, she was bad to deal with that day. It was one of the very few if not only days that I was grateful for Diane and Melanie's presence because I hate to think what would have happened if they weren't there to calm Brandi down."

"I shudder to think of what it would have been like if she had been in the program and had gotten knocked up," Gem said as she picked up some used paper plates and shoved them into a trash bag. "I'm a hell of a lot more stable mentally than her and there were times when I was pregnant with Andrea when I felt like my hormones were making me completely crazy."

"Tell me about it," Sasha sympathized. "It hasn't really gotten to that point yet with me this time around, but when I was pregnant with the twins there were times that I didn't know what had happened with the real me." She laughed a little. "But other than that, once I got past that rough first trimester, I so loved being pregnant then and I'm loving it now." She shrugged. "There were times where I felt like physically my body wasn't really mine, but other than that I absolutely loved the last five or six months."

"I feel that way sometimes now," Max agreed. She jumped a little, laughed, and shook her head. "Sorry about that. The baby just kicked."

"Ooooh! Let me feel," Jondy said. She dropped the balloons that she had been about to throw away and ran over to Max and put a hand on her abdomen. "Wow! That kid's really kicking your ass, huh?"

"He or she kicks all of the time," Max said. "It makes me shudder to think of the abuse that Sasha must have gone through with Jade and Julia."

"Do you know if you're having a boy or girl?" CeCe asked.

Max shook her head. "No. Zack and I both want to be surprise." She glanced at Jondy. "I've got a feeling that Wayne knows what the sex of the baby is because lately when I have an ultrasound at my checkup, he looks at the screen and then back at us and then he gives us that really irritating look and laughs before he gets back down to business. I almost punched him at the last appointment."

"If it makes you feel better if he knows what the baby is, he hasn't told me," Jondy offered. "Hey Sasha, do you know?"

"Nope," Sasha said. "Biggs and I are going back-and-forth on that particular issue. I want to be surprised and he wants to know what it is. I think he really wants this baby to be a boy." She grinned. "So do I, but I want to wait until I give birth before I find out. Who knows, I might change my mind between now and my due date."

"More power to Biggs if he does get you to change your mind," CeCe teased. "It usually takes a small miracle or explosion to get you to change your opinion when you're set on something." She grinned wickedly. "Maybe if he's _really_ nice to you on your wedding night honeymoon, he'll bring you around." She, Jondy, Rena, and Syl made catcalls and Max, Jace, Brin, and Gem laughed.

Sasha also grinned. "Well, we'll see. I'll let you know when I get back from my honeymoon if Biggs managed to win that particular argument. As for the other details, none of you are going to get a single one of them."

"Oh, come on, sis," Rena said. "You won't even tell me?"

"I especially won't tell you," Sasha said. "You want to have a hot honeymoon, wait until Zane proposes to you and the two of you get hitched."

"Has Zane popped the question yet?" Syl asked.

Rena shook her head. "No. I mean, we've only been dating for six or seven months or so." She grinned giddily. "I sure hope he does sometime, though!"

"For your sake, I hope that he does to," Max said. "I've got a feeling that he will." She turned towards the living room window. "That's Zack's car and my cue to get my butt out of here. I'll see you guys later."

"Ten a.m. sharp, Max," Sasha reminded her.

"Relax, I won't be late," Max assured her. She waved to the others and left the apartment and a minute later the building and got into the car. "Hey, baby." She leaned over and kissed Zack. "How was the bachelor party?"

"Surprisingly, Alec didn't make it too wild," Zack said. "I was almost expecting something extreme but it wasn't as bad as it could have been considering that most of us were either underage, attached, or both." He pulled away from the curb and started to head towards their own building. "How was Sasha's bachelorette party?"

"It was fun," Max said. "Rena did a good job planning it. I had a great time." She looked out the window and sighed. "I'm getting tired. I hate getting tired this easily. I know that it's going to be more than worth it, but…" She shrugged. "I can deal."

As soon as Zack reached their building a few minutes, they went straight to their apartment and sat down on their living room couch. Zack put his arm around Max and pulled her close to him. "Big day tomorrow," he said.

"The wedding should be nice," Max said. She grinned. "The wedding reception is going to be insane. T.C. in that garage, every single transgenic who can make it invited…it's going to be a hell of a party. It'll be fun." She laughed. "I'm glad that I can't drink any alcohol because it's going to be fun just watching the Three Musketeers get hammered."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Fun for you, yes, but you do know who will be the one to drag them someplace where they can pass out or vomit in relative privacy?"

"I know," Max teased. She leaned in and kissed him sweetly. Zack responded to the kiss, finally pulling away from her a little minutes later.

"Marry me?" he asked softly.

"Yes," Max breathed. They kissed again.

TBC


	33. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky sat at her desk in her office on campus and sighed. _Two classes today plus these stupid office hours that I have to have. None of my students seem to want to come by…duh, Becky! It's when most people have lunch. Damn, I must be bored._ She shook her head and reached for the paper bag that was sitting on the desk. She was about to reach inside to take out the sandwich that was in there when she heard a knock on the office door. "Come in." She raised an eyebrow in surprise when she saw Brandi enter her office. "Of all the people I thought would come in here, you were not one of them."

"I already ate my lunch and I still have half an hour left before I have to get back to work, so I thought that I would drop by and make your life miserable," Brandi said, smiling nastily. "Gee, nobody's here talking with the illustrious new professor. You making fans this quickly, 405?"

"My name is Becky," Becky reminded her. "Hell, if you really want to have some form of conversation with me, go ahead and have a seat. I don't care."

Brandi looked at her suspiciously. "You don't care?"

"No," Becky said. "I'm bored as hell. If anything, this will amuse me."

"Amuse you?" Brandi repeated. Her expression grew darker. "If you have half of the brain that they had said that you've got, you would know not to keep in contact with 494."

"Your opinion is exactly that," Becky said. "Speaking of which, I'm almost surprised that you didn't show up at Biggs and Sasha's wedding reception on Saturday night, if only to ruin it for at least some people if not for everybody that showed up. Pretty much any transgenic that was in the area was invited and I know that included you, Diane, Melanie, 237, and I believe it was 532 and 859 that arrived into town last week? I don't know their names right off the top of my head." She shrugged. "Hell, I was expecting you to crash the actual ceremony that morning and fuck that up royally. I think Biggs and Sasha did too because they asked me and Riley to sit near the entrance to the chapel. It must have been in case you or the other members of your old unit decided to be a party pooper."

"That would have been beneath me," Brandi said disdainfully. "As far as I am concerned, those two imbeciles deserve each other. God, Sasha always was such a loser and Biggs always thought that he was better than everybody else. It disgusted me and I know that I'm not the only one who thought that way."

"So I've heard," Becky said.

"I bet it was a stupid ceremony, anyway," Brandi said.

"No, it was a very nice ceremony," Becky said. "There were only about…" She paused. "…twenty of us there at the church counting the bride and groom. It didn't take very long, but that was fine with everybody there. Sasha wore this really nice dress. It wasn't white, Max told me that Rena had told her that Sasha had said 'I don't look all that great in pure white and hell, it's kind of obvious I'm not a virgin, so what's the point?'." Becky laughed. "At any rate, they didn't write their own vows, I think they both agreed beforehand that they thought writing their own was too sappy, but when they looked at each other when the minister said that Biggs could kiss his bride…wow. I even had to wipe my eye a little bit. Syl and Brin were both bawling like small children by then, Max and Rena were both grinning like lunatics, even my brother was smiling and if you know him, then you know how big of a deal that is."

"Your brother…that's right, 599. I heard about the interview that woman gave," Brandi said.

Becky's eyes hardened. "That woman is my mother."

"Whatever," Brandi said. "No skin off my ass. I'm a big girl. I don't need a mother."

"Yeah, having Renfro as the closest thing to a mother figure that you had during your adolescence would turn anybody off to the concept of having their real mother around and having a parent-child relationship with her," Becky said dryly.

"Director Renfro was an excellent director of the facility that I grew up in since she took over from Seattle's original director," Brandi said calmly. "I'll admit that she made decisions that I personally did not like or agree with, but nobody is perfect."

_Are you naturally this screwed in the head or did all of the time that you spent in Psy Ops do the trick?_ Becky wondered.

"Anyway, aren't you going to start gushing about how much fun the reception was?" Brandi continued, smirking. "Diane told me that it was boring as hell and that was why she left early."

"Funny, I thought that she left early because she wanted to give that X4 jerk that she met a thrill," Becky remarked. "And yes, the reception was a blast but I see no need to give every single detail about what happened."

"Not even who caught the bouquet and garter?" Brandi said in mock horror.

"Not even that," Becky said. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Just as well I didn't go, I guess," Brandi said. "If Melanie wasn't able to make it because she couldn't find somebody in time to watch her boys and if Diane bailed early, then there was no point. Who would I have hung out with? I hate or at least dislike everybody else that would have been there."

"Why didn't you at least try to make more friends or even less enemies back in the good old days?" Becky wondered, genuinely curious.

"What was the point?" Brandi said. "Diane and Melanie were the only two people who deserved to be friends with me. They never did anything to screw me over, they never claimed to be better than me even when Diane passed me in the intraunit rankings, and they are the only two people in my old unit that didn't give me an odd look whenever I would get out of Psy Ops."

"Okay, I can see how that last one would count for a lot," Becky conceded.

"You've got room to talk," Brandi said.

"Excuse me?"

"How many friends did you have before Manticore burned down?" Brandi asked, smirking.

Becky returned the smirk. "My entire unit—I consider them to be my family—Jeff, Zack and I became friends even before I found out that he was my brother, Max, Alec I don't think would count because we didn't actually become friends until months later, I guess you could say that Jace was a friend of mine or at least a friendly acquaintance before she decided to leave Manticore, everybody in Jeff's unit…funny, I seemed to have had a lot of friends by the time that Manticore got fried."

"Bragging is unnecessary, you little bitch," Brandi said.

"Really? You were the one who posed the question, weren't you?" Becky reminded her.

"You are a smug little shit," Brandi said. She started to reach back as if she was going to hit Becky, but changed her mind and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

_Finally starting to learn your lesson, huh?_ "That was a smart move," Becky said, her voice still perfectly calm. She and Brandi both looked towards the door when they heard somebody knocking on it. "Who is it?"

"It's Frankie, Professor Murphy. From eleven o'clock Freshman Comp?"

"Come right in," Becky said.

Brandi stood up and the student entered the office. "I suppose that would be my cue to get back to my area of campus. It was such a pleasure." Under her breath, quietly enough so that Frankie wouldn't be able to hear it but that Becky would easily, she added "Rot in hell."

Becky watched her leave and sighed. _Unbelievable. What is wrong with that woman?_

TBC


	34. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"So, how does it feel to be back in Seattle as a married woman?" Rena asked Sasha as they walked around Terminal City a few weeks later.

"It feels amazing," Sasha said. She grinned. "I mean, we've been mated for five months already so in my mind, that's when we were really 'married,' but it's still kind of nice to have had the wedding and all. There was something about it that just made me get goosebumps all over. It was kind of surreal, but in a good way. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think I do," Rena said. "Man, it's really nice out today. That reminds me, I've got to think of something to get for Anthony's first birthday later this month. I can't believe that he's a month old already. I remember when I first saw him the night after he was born. He was so small and now he's a speed demon on those two legs of his and talking up a storm as much as any one-year-old X-series can. Unbelievable."

"Tell me about it," Sasha agreed. "Has Alec been inadvertently teaching him any words that he shouldn't be learning?"

Rena shook her head and laughed. "No, Brin would fillet him if he swore around Anthony, even if it was by accident. Regular old English is the only language that's he's speaking at the moment."

"My God…you've only gotten even more beautiful since we last saw each other, 121."

Sasha froze. _No way in fucking hell! That bastard shows up now? Why did he have to show up at all? Damnit!_

Rena looked back-and-forth between Sasha and the man that had spoken, puzzled. Then she turned and looked into the man's face and saw his eyes, the same eyes that Jade had and she knew what was going on in an instant. "I'm guessing you're 591, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's me," he agreed. Then he blinked and did a double-take, finally recognizing the fact that both twins were right in front of him. "What on Earth…?"

"Oh, 591, this is my twin," Sasha said, sounding bored. "Her name's Rena."

"The '09er," 591 said. "I've heard about you."

"Who hasn't?" Rena said sarcastically. "It's good to be loved."

"What kind of a name is Rena?" 591 said in disgust.

Rena shot him a dirty look. "It's from the name Irene, dipshit." Her lips curved into a smirk. "You look like such a wussbag, it doesn't surprise me that you weren't able to make the old dog bark your first night with Sasha."

"I thought that we'd agreed that you wouldn't tell anybody about what had happened that night," 591 said angrily.

"I figured that since Manticore burned to the ground and Renfro bit the big one that it didn't matter any more so all bets were off," Sasha said. "Oh, by the way, you're the father of fraternal twin girls that turned a year old a month ago. Congratulations."

591 paled a little. "You're kidding me. You actually had the baby—I mean, babies?"

Sasha looked furious. "What kind of a person do you take me for if you think for even a nanosecond that I would either abort or give up for adoption my own children? Grow a brain, you moron."

"Hey, I don't know you that well, remember?" 591 pointed out. "How would I know what your plans are regarding your kids?"

"Point taken," Sasha admitted, feeling secretly pleased that he had said 'her kids' as opposed to 'our kids.' "And they're your kids too, remember?"

"I know, I know," 591 said irritably. He took a deep breath to calm himself and he put a big smile on his face. "Well, then, what do you say that since we apparently have children together that we do get to know each other? My name is Dante."

"That's appropriate considering that any time that I spend with you is hell on Earth," Sasha remarked. "As Rena already mentioned, my name is Sasha."

"So, what do you think?" Dante asked. "I've decided to temporarily crash here in Terminal City while I find a job in the area. What do you say we go back to my crib and we have a nice…discussion…about things?"

Sasha felt revolted. "Hell no. Do you think that I'm blind and deaf, Dante? I know exactly what you're talking about and the answer is as much no now as it was when we first met back at Manticore. Remember what I said about how I had somebody that I was already pretty much mated to? Remember how I yelled out his designation when you attempted to copulate with me that night?" She smirked and pointed to her stomach, which was starting to become obvious. "We're definitely mated now. This is his baby, which we conceived the night that we decided to make things official. Speaking of which, in case my point still hasn't gotten through your tiny little mind…" She held out her left hand. "See that platinum band on my fourth finger? It's called a wedding ring. You know, you and your spouse exchange them when you get married. As a matter of fact, Biggs—that's 511's name—and I just got back from our honeymoon. Get the picture?"

"Hell, do you think that I care?" Dante said after a few moments. He grinned wolfishly and moved uncomfortably close to Sasha. "Just dump the kid off with him when it's born. All I want is you and for us to do the things that I wish that you would have agreed to do back when—" He yelled in surprise when he was suddenly yanked away from Sasha and found himself face-to-face with a furious Biggs.

"What did you just say?" Biggs asked.

"Oh, Biggs, is it? I remember you," Dante said. He smiled smugly and looked down at Biggs. "The one that Sasha allegedly loves."

"Allegedly? The proof is in the pudding, pal," Biggs pointed out.

"Whatever," Dante said. "Now, will you excuse me?" He pointed to Sasha. "I'm trying to convince the sweetest piece of ass that I've—" He was cut off once again, this time by Biggs' fist connecting with his face. He didn't have time to even cry out in pain as Biggs attacked him.

"Yeah, go for it, honey!" Sasha cheered. "Watch your right hook, it's landing a little off-center."

"Go, Biggs!" Rena said happily. "Kick his ass! Kick his ass!" She laughed as Biggs' right foot connected with Dante's jaw. "Oh, did that one hurt?" She and Sasha laughed and continued to watch and cheer and Biggs beat the shit out of Dante. Rena and Sasha jumped out of the way as they came closer. Dante grabbed a nearby door and wrenched it open, hoping to hit Biggs in the face with it. Biggs, however, got out of the way in time and the door rebounded off of the wall of the building that it was attached to, smacking Alec, who'd been inside the building and was leaving, right in the mouth.

Biggs paused in his actions. "Oh shit, Alec, are you okay?"

Alec moved his jaw around for a few moments before he nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Do you mind if I get a hit it on him?"

"Be my guest," Biggs said, gesturing towards Dante.

"Thanks, bro," Alec said. He swung and punched Dante in the face. Biggs gave him a quick thumbs-up before he went back to work. A minute later, Sasha stopped him.

"Wait, sweetie," she said. "I want to get a shot in on him."

"Sasha, no," Biggs said. "I don't want to risk you or the baby."

"True," Sasha said. She turned to Rena. "Rena?"

Rena grinned wickedly. "I'd be honored." She walked up to Dante, who was being held up by Biggs. She smiled sweetly at him before she kicked Dante in the crotch at full strength. Biggs and Alec couldn't help wincing. Sasha just laughed hysterically.

"Brava!" she said enthusiastically. "I couldn't have done it any better!" She smiled and walked over to Dante and, after giving Biggs a reassuring look, knelt down beside him. "Hello. Now that you have hopefully have had some sense beaten into your head, we're going to have a little talk. You've got a few options here. Here's your first one: now that I'm assuming that you've got your papers and all of that, we can get you officially registered as Jade and Julia's father and you can start paying me child support every single month."

Dante shook his head and winced from both the pain that he was in and what Sasha had just mentioned. "No way. I don't want anything to do with those kids."

"Then you just answered the question that I was going to ask of you before I was going to talk about the second option," Sasha said. "You never approach me again other than maybe a polite hello at best if we happen to run into each other in the street, I never register you as my daughters' father, and you stay the hell out of our lives. I mean, if the girls get curious and want to know about you then I'll let them know when they're old enough, but until then you go bye-bye. You're sure as hell aren't the one that they call Daddy, anyway. I'm pretty sure that I know what your answer is going to be, but let's hear it anyway."

"The second one," Dante said. "I don't want kids."

"Then you won't have them," Sasha said. "Though I do owe you thanks for giving me Jade and Julia. They're more than I could have ever hoped for. Go to hell, Dante." She, Rena, Alec, and Biggs turned around and walked away. "Finally, some closure with that asshole."

"Yeah," Biggs said. He grinned. "Now I can definitely become their father."

Sasha matched his grin. "We'll call the lawyer to get it going first thing in the morning."

"Awww," Alec and Rena said in unison.

"Go back to your respective significant others," Biggs said, pretending to be disgusted. They all laughed and continued walking.

TBC


	35. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Is this where you want it?" Max asked Alec a few weeks later as she held a balloon that she'd just blown up.

Alec nodded. "Yeah, that would be perfect, Max."

"Cool," Max said. She stepped up onto the couch in Brin and Alec's living room and turned her head to give Zack an annoyed look. "If it makes you feel any better you can stand behind me so that you'd be able to catch me in the _extremely unlikely_ event that I would lose my balance and slip." She shook her head and taped the balloon to the wall before she stepped down off of the couch. "See?"

"I don't know if that was a mood swing or if that was just Max," Alec remarked. When Max whipped around and punched him hard in the arm, he winced. "Now that I'm pretty sure was just Maxie."

"Call me Maxie again and I'll rip your—"

"Max, let it go," Zack said.

"I know," Max said. She sighed and walked back to him and leaned up to give him a kiss. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you before." She shot Alec a look. "Yes, Alec, that was a mood swing. Don't worry, I still would have hit you anyway."

"That's reassuring," Alec said.

"Okay, all of you can the violence right now," Brin said as she walked into the living room with Anthony in her arms. "The birthday boy is here!"

"Down," Anthony said. He squirmed around until Brin finally put him down. He ran over to Alec. "Daddy, up!"

"Absolutely, big guy," Alec said. He swung his son up into his arms. "Look who's all nice and clean and looking good! You'll have all of your aunts and uncles eating out of the palm of your hand." He looked up and walked up to the front door and opened it with his free hand. "Hey, come on in."

"Thanks," Gem said. She was carrying Andrea in one arm, a present in the other, and had a diaper bag slung over one shoulder. She managed to set the present down on top of the pile in the corner, put Andrea down on the ground, and then slid the bag off of her shoulder and put it down on the floor. She grinned and laughed as Andrea picked herself up and toddled over to where her stepsisters were sitting and started to play with them. "I shudder to think of when she grows up and starts to actually run around. I don't know how I'll keep up with her."

"I hope that I'll be able to keep up with this one," Max said, resting a hand on her abdomen. "With the way that he or she has been moving around in there, I know this baby is going to be a handful."

"Hey, you're the kid's mom so that's already a given," Krit said.

"Then I feel really sorry for Syl when the two of you eventually have kids," Max said sweetly.

"Can we please hold off on the sibling rivalry at least until after Anthony blows out his candles?" Brin begged.

"Sorry," Max apologized. "Where's the cake?"

"I know that you're pregnant and all, Max, but can't you hold off on the food for just a few more minutes until everybody else gets here?" Wayne teased.

"You know, my girls over there are being a lot more mature than you are right now," Sasha pointed out. "Not to mention Anthony and Andrea." She grinned wickedly as she looked over at Alec. "I guess he takes after his mother, huh?"

"Biggs? Your wife?" Alec said pointedly.

"What about her?" Biggs teased.

"That's it, I'm getting the cake," Brin said, laughing. She went into the kitchen and came out a minute or two later holding a big cake with a single candle in it. She waited for Biggs, Sasha, and Gem to get their children before they all started to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Anthony, who blew the lone candle out easily. They cheered and Brin set the cake down on the coffee table and served it to everybody. They all sat around the living room, eating their slices of birthday cake and watching the children. "One year. Unbelievable."

"He really is getting so big so quickly," Syl said. "He's going to be all grown up before you know it."

"Please, don't remind me," Brin groaned.

"Gonna be a charmer with the ladies just like his old man, huh?" Biggs teased.

"Hey, he is my boy," Alec said, grinning. "Look at him now! Only one year old and he's already surrounded by three beautiful girls."

"Very funny," Gem remarked. "No, Andrea, don't grab Julia's doll like that. That's not very nice." She turned back to the other adults. "I thought CeCe was going to make it here."

"No, she called me earlier and told me that she got stuck at work," Alec said.

"Similar deal with Jace," Zack added. "A private event that she was going to cover got moved up to today." He looked at the four small children. "They get along really well for the most part."

"Yeah, they do," Biggs said. "It's great. It reminds me of how close Sasha, Alec, and I were since we were babies. We were a team from the moment that Sasha arrived in Seattle from Gillette."

"Absolutely," Sasha said. She grinned wickedly. "You think Anthony is going to fall in love with one of the girls?"

"Sasha," Alec groaned. "He's barely a year old and you're already playing matchmaker? I thought you didn't like cr—stuff like that. That sounds like it would be Melanie's thing. Heck, I bet she and Diane have it planned that one of Melanie's boys will marry Diane's daughter."

"No doubt about it," Sasha agreed. "But I think this is one of those unwritten mom laws, you know?"

"Hey, their kid could turn out to be a girl," Rena said gleefully. "If the baby is…"

"Hell, no," Max said immediately. "Sorry, Brin."

Brin looked amused. "About the language or the other?"

"Both," Max said.

"Do I hear an apology coming my way?" Alec teased.

"I haven't apologized to you for anything, why start now?" Max said. She laughed and gently patted her stomach. "That's right, kiddo. Uncle Alec's being weird. You'll learn that one pretty quickly, won't you?"

Zack moved closer to Max and reached over and laid a hand on top of the one of hers that was still resting on her round stomach. "I know that you're going to be a smart kid, so do your dad a favor and do not listen to a word that your Uncle Alec will tell you. Ever."

"I am so hurt," Alec said, shaking his head. "I can't believe that you hold me in such low regard."

"Gee, I wonder why," Sasha deadpanned.

"Awww, isn't that sweet?" Zane said, pointing to Max and Zack. He, Krit, and Wayne began to make kissing noises. "Look at Maxie and Zack all snuggled up together."

Zack closed his eyes and shook his head, but Max just smiled at her brothers and gestured at them with one of her feet. "Would any of you like to get a sneaker enema?"

"Wow, really? I can get one of those?" Wayne said in mock awe. "I don't believe it!"

"Believe it, doc," Max said. "I am still very capable of kicking you in the ass."

"At least it's not just my ass that she's obsessing about anymore," Alec remarked.

"And on that note," Brin interrupted. She put a big smile on her face. "Who wants to see the birthday boy open his presents?"

Anthony's dark eyes lit up. "Pressie?"

"Oh yeah, Alec, he's your son for sure," Gem said.

"The world will need to watch out for him," Alec agreed.

"No doubt," Max said.

TBC


	36. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: I don't think that Zero's designation was given in the episode "Bag 'Em," so I'm making it up here.

"Hey, Kyle," Max said cheerfully as she walked through the streets of Terminal City one afternoon about a month later. "Hey, Kevin." She frowned at the two other male X6s that were with them. "I don't think that I've met the two of you before exactly."

"Nope, just in passing a couple of times in the building," Kyle agreed. "These are our roommates. This is Bullet, designation X6-787, and this is Zero, designation X6-543. Bullet was from X6 Unit 2 from back in Wyoming and Zero was originally from Syracuse's X6 Unit 5."

"Nice to meet you," Bullet said, extending his hand.

Max shook it and Zero's as well. "Nice to meet you guys, too. How did you get the names?"

"Mine was a nickname from back at Manticore," Bullet said. He looked somewhat sheepish. "I seemed to have had a knack for getting shot when out on missions. It became a running gag within my unit for them to guess how many bullets would have to have been taken out of me either when I returned or while I was out. I figured what the hell, I might as well just run with it. It's not my official name and all of that stuff, but I actually like it."

"I don't even remember how I picked up my name," Zero said.

"I do," Bullet said. "It was a few weeks after you and I and those other couple of X6s that we'd busted loose with were hanging out at a club one night and—" He stopped and he, Kyle, and Kevin started to laugh at the look on Zero's face. "You look pretty smart, Max. Fill in the blanks."

"I think that I can," Max said dryly.

"Speaking of dates, where do you think I should go tonight? As a girl, Max, what would you like more? Movies, dinner, movies then dinner, or dinner and then movies?" Kyle asked.

"He's going out with Ralph tonight," Kevin said gleefully. He laughed when Kyle punched him in the arm.

"With Ralph?" Max said. "That's great." She paused. "As for the movie and dinner thing, I personally don't care. Pick whichever, you know?"

"Yeah," Kyle said.

"Anyways, I'm off to visit the guys in the control room," Max said. "I'll catch you guys later. It was nice meeting you guys."

"Nice meeting you, too," Bullet agreed. Max waved to them before she continued to walk through the streets of T.C. before finally arriving at the main building and going inside and into the control room.

"Hey, guys," she said. "What's going on?"

"You look like you're about to explode," Mole said bluntly.

Max glared at him. "Yeah, apparently that tends to happen to pregnant women when they're only five-and-a-half weeks away from their due date. Would you like me to lay the smackdown on your ass or would you like to exercise some restraint for once in your life? Oh, one word about mood swings and the only thing that will be swinging will be your head when I separate it from your neck and hang it by a chain from the ceiling."

Mole ignored the snickers from Dix and Luke. "Thank goodness they never made us breed."

"I agree," Max said. She smirked. "I don't think the world would be able to handle your spawn."

Mole thought about it for a few moments. "Damn right they wouldn't be able to handle it."

"What's up, Max?" Luke asked.

"Not much," Max said, stretching. "I just thought that I'd come over here and see how things were going, maybe even help out a little bit." She shook her head. "I am so damn bored sometimes that it's ridiculous. I can't do most of the things that I normally like to do so I feel like I'm going to climb the walls at any given moment." The phone at Dix's desk rang and he held up a hand before he picked it up.

"Terminal City control room. This is Dix speaking," he said. He listened for a few moments before he held the receiver out to Max. "Max, you should take this call. It's the chief of police from Winnipeg, Canada. It sounds pretty urgent."

Max frowned in concern. "Sure, no problem." She waited for Dix to get up out of his chair before she sat down in it and took the phone from him. "This is Max Guevara speaking. Who is this?"

"Paul Campbell, Winnipeg Chief of Police," the person on the other end of the line replied. "Ms. Guevara, we have an urgent matter for you."

"Shoot," Max said.

"About two months ago, a local man went missing," Campbell said. "He was last seen at a nightclub in downtown Winnipeg. He was only in his late twenties, he had plenty of friends, and he had a successful job. In short, he had no reason to disappear off of the face of the Earth. We set out on a search for him but we hadn't been able to find even a trace of anything to point towards his whereabouts until three days ago. A woman jogging through a park about thirty kilometers north of the city with her dog came across a bloody shoelace that her dog had uncovered when he'd been digging to apparently hide a toy bone that he'd found earlier along the trail. The woman called the police and a search revealed the missing man's body." He hesitated a little bit. "Not only had he sustained severe blunt force trauma to multiple areas of the body, but…one arm had almost been separated from the body and the other had been completely ripped free."

"Jesus," Max said, shocked.

"It was if the man had been attacked by somebody in a rage like we'd never seen before," Campbell continued. "We identified the man through his dental records and through testing of the blood that was found on him." He paused again. "We also found some blood that did not belong to the victim on the body, enough to suggest that it might have come from a medium to large-sized paper cut. We found a similar amount of that same blood right near the body as well. Based on this evidence, we concluded that this was the blood of whoever had attacked and killed the man. We analyzed some of this blood to try to determine who it was and the blood was far from any violent criminals whose DNA we had on record."

"…it was transgenic blood," Max concluded.

"We believe so," Campbell said. "We would like to arrange to have the remaining samples as well as our own results sent over to you in Seattle so that you can perform your own tests and that you can deal with the perpetrator, as it was agreed upon by our Prime Minister and your President."

Max nodded. "Absolutely. I'm going to hand you back over to Dix so that the two of you can work out the logistics of the transfer of the samples and I'll notify our labs. Thank you for letting us know about this, Mr. Campbell."

"Not a problem, Ms. Guevara," Campbell said. Max handed the phone back to Dix and got out of the chair and just shook her head.

"I can't believe this," she said.

"God only knows where they got some of our DNA," Mole pointed out.

"Noted," Max conceded. She sighed and walked over to another phone.

TBC


	37. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Hey, buddy," Alec said as he walked up to Zane two nights later at Zane and Krit's garage. "I hope I made it in before closing time."

"Yeah, by about five seconds," Zane said. "What did you bring in for me today? The Ducati, the convertible, or Brin's car?"

"The Ducati," Alec said. He pointed to the bike. "It doesn't sound quite right when I go to change gears. I noticed it last night when I went out for a ride."

"Gotcha," Zane said. "We won't be able to start work on it before closing time, but I'll put it in right now." He waved Alec towards a desk and then walked behind it and brought out a form and a pen and slid it over to Alec. "Fill this out. Do you need a ride back to your place?"

"No, but thanks for the offer," Alec said. "I brought the bike in my car so I can drive that back to Brin's and my place." He quickly filled the form out and handed it back to Zane, who began to enter the information into a computer. "This place seems to be doing really well. There are quite a few sweet vehicles here."

"Oh yeah," Zane said. "I'm jealous of some of our clients." He finished entering the information and walked with Alec over to where Alec had left his motorcycle. Zane wheeled the bike over to a work area and leaned it against a wall. He took a tag off of a shelf, quickly wrote some information on it, and hung the tag on the bike. "There you go. We'll get to work on it first thing in the morning." Something caught his eye. "Speaking of which…" He turned to face the girl that was still working on the engine of a black convertible. "Hey, Fixit, time to clock out and go home."

She looked up and blushed. "Sorry, Zane." Fixit noticed Alec standing next to Zane and unconsciously straightened her posture. "Hello, sir."

"It's been awhile since that was necessary," Alec said, amused. "Relax."

"Hard to do around my—well, I should say former commanding officer," Fixit said. She sounded slightly disgusted. Zane gave Alec a questioning look.

"She was in Rob's unit," Alec explained. "She wasn't exactly too fond of him, either."

"That's an understatement," Fixit said. "The only decent thing that I can say about him as a person especially after what happened with Jeff this past summer is that at least he left me relatively alone after he tried to hook up with me right before Manticore burned down."

"He claimed to be hung up on Becky and he still tried to get with you?" Alec said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the Rob that we all know and love to despise," Fixit reminded him.

"Good point," Alec said.

"Agreed," Zane said. "In any case, Fixit, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Gotcha," Fixit said. She put her tools away and punched out and left.

"She's one of the best workers here," Zane said. "She's practically a surgeon when it comes to engines."

"Speaking of which, where is the rest of the motley crew that you've got working here?" Alec asked.

"At home, I assume," Zane said. "Rena and Syl left the offices hours ago and today was Krit's day off. All of the other mechanics were out of here by half an hour ago." He stretched his arms. "Nothing like a good long day of working on cars and bikes to make you feel satisfied."

"Whatever floats your boat," Alec agreed. He sighed. "I wouldn't mind something to take my mind of what's going on right now."

"About the murder in Canada?" Zane guessed. "That's just plain sick. I can't believe that one of us would be that stupid to…" He trailed off and winced. "Oh yeah."

Alec looked at him sympathetically, his eyes holding a similar look of pain. "Yeah."

"What Ben did was completely different in a way," Zane said. "From what I was told, he hadn't been anything but cold and methodical in how he'd murdered those people. Whichever one of us transgenics that did this was a total one-eighty. Losing it was written all over the body. What saddens me the most about Ben's situation is that he was at the point-of-no-return when Max had caught up to him. I can only hope that whoever did this isn't at that same point for his or herself, but I wouldn't hold out too much hope over that one."

"I know," Alec said grimly. "We can just cross our fingers and hope that this doesn't turn out to be an absolute worst-case scenario."

Zane nodded. "Yeah." He went over to one wall and pressed a button and the door to the garage closed. He made sure that it was locked before he went over to the customer entrance doors and locked those as well. He turned back to Alec and tried to smile. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty hungry."

"Me too," he said. "Brin and I are only planning on having TV dinners tonight, but you and Rena are still more than welcome to join us if you want. I know that Brin wouldn't mind."

"Thanks," Zane said. "I'll ask Rena when I get back to our place and I'll call you and let you know then."

"Cool," Alec said. His cell phone rang and he looked at the number on the caller I.D. before he flipped it open and answered it. "Talk to me, Dix."

"Where are you?" Dix asked.

"I'm over at Zane and Krit's shop," Alec said. "Zane and I were just about to leave. Why?"

"We've got the final results back from the DNA tests on the samples that were sent over from Canada," Dix said. He hesitated. "We came up with a match from the Manticore database. We need you, and I guess Zane if he wants to be there, back to Terminal City immediately."

Alec frowned and tried not to panic. _Something's wrong. Dix isn't usually this evasive with us._ "Give it to me, Dix."

"Okay, Alec," Dix said. He took a deep breath. "The killer is Brandi."

TBC


	38. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Alec sat at the head of the table in one of the conference rooms in the main building in Terminal City. He looked over at Biggs and Sasha, who sat on either side of him, and then down the table at nearly every other member of his old unit that was living in the area: 532 who was now known as Dina, 967 who was now known as Kai, 859 who was going by Ted, 295 who called himself Reg, 304 who was now known as Lori, and 013 who was going by the name Bryan. He looked up as the door opened and Diane and Melanie entered the room and sat down next to each other at the table. _Almost everybody except for 237—I mean, Cam._ "Does anybody know where Cam is?"

"He's still at work as far as I know," Bryan said. He shot Alec a nasty look. "He sometimes is kept late. Can we get to the point? Some of us have better things to do than to be stuck in a room with your sorry ass."

"I think that all of us need to know why you asked us here," Diane said. "And speaking of Cam not being here, where is Brandi? Shouldn't she be present as well?"

"I'll be getting to that," Alec said. He looked around the table once more, feeling even more uneasy than ever. _Maybe I should have told Biggs and Sasha about Brandi before this meeting. Telling the whole gang at the same time, what the hell was I thinking?_ He took a deep breath. "All of you have been told at some point over the past two days about the murder that occurred up in Canada, correct?" He saw all of his teammates nod. "The blood samples belonging to the perp arrived here yesterday morning and after their arrival, DNA testing was performed to try to find a match among the transgenics. Earlier tonight, I was notified that a match had been found." Alec's voice and expression were grim. "The blood belonged to Brandi."

"What?" Diane exploded. "You're fucking kidding me!"

"Hold on a second," Sasha said. "Back the truck up here, Alec. You're telling me that Brandi was responsible for that sick attack on that poor man up in Winnipeg? She did that shit?"

"Like you've all heard before, blood that was determined to be transgenic was found both on and near the victim," Alec said. "Based on that and other evidence that was found at the crime scene, the police in Winnipeg determined that it was that transgenic that had committed the murder. They contacted Terminal City two days ago and arranged to have the samples of the transgenic's blood sent down here so that they could be analyzed by our people and so that once the identity of the mystery person was determined, we could take appropriate action. The results of the testing conclusively proved that the blood belonged to Brandi. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Case closed."

"No," Melanie said, shaking her head. She, and Diane as well, looked stunned. "This can't be right. This can't be happening. Brandi wouldn't do something like this. She couldn't have. There has to be a mistake."

"Unfortunately, it isn't out of the realm of possibility for Brandi to have done something like this," Biggs said, though slowly as if the information was just sinking in, as it was with all of them. "We all remember what Brandi was like back at Manticore. She was clearly not as mentally stable as she should have been and she did fly off the handle at people when she was pissed off. Not as frequently as Cam did, but it was worst most of the time when Brandi did it." He turned to face Diane. "Remember the day that Brandi got her eight-month stay in Psy Ops, Diane?"

Diane nodded slowly. "She lost it on 380 in Culture class. She just completely lost it and beat up 380 pretty good until the trainer was able to get Brandi off of 380 and even then it was only because he used the emergency Taser that was in one of his desk drawers." Her expression grew bleak. "Even I couldn't get her to stop."

"In Layman's terms you're telling me that Brandi went all Psycho-fuck like 493 did?" Bryan said.

Alec closed his eyes and took a deep breath and fought the urge to strangle Bryan. "More or less, Bryan, though I wouldn't exactly use those words to describe the situation."

"So, what is the situation?" Kai asked. Her expression was somewhere between shocked and annoyed. "Why exactly do you want all of us here besides letting us know about Brandi's latest detour from the land of the sane?"

"Because I need your help to make sure Brandi gets here to the main building for questioning and confirmation," Alec said. "We need this to happen within three days and after that we need to punish her."

"You mean kill her," Diane said angrily, though she was clearly fighting tears.

"You know what she did, Diane," Reg said, though his voice was much more subdued than normal. "She has to face the appropriate sanctions for her actions."

"Reg is right," Sasha said. "As much as it hurts you and hell as much as it hurts even _me_, we have to do what needs to be done."

"This is…this is just unbelievable," Lori said.

"I always knew Brandi was a time bomb," Dina said quietly. "She was always so nasty especially after '09." She ignored the looks that Diane and Melanie were giving her. "I'm not even mentioning the net amount of time that she spent in Psy Ops. Something was waiting to happen and it did."

"I wonder why she didn't explode like this sooner," Diane said somewhat distantly.

Alec shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she didn't go completely off the deep end back at Manticore because there she had the threat of Psy Ops looming over her head twenty-four-seven and even then it didn't completely stop her from losing it in some way to some degree. Look, the point is that we need to make sure that Brandi gets here for questioning and confirmation within three days. Are you all in or not?" He looked around. Biggs and Sasha nodded immediately and most of the others soon followed. After some hesitation, Diane and Melanie did as well. "Okay, then. You all know how to contact either me or the control room here. Do so immediately after talking with Brandi and getting her consent. Dismissed."

* * *

Brandi slipped silently from the corner where she'd been listening in on the meeting, furious. _I can't believe that I was found out. I could have sworn that I'd hid the evidence better than that! Damn. That fucking '09er twin scum and his pal and the tall freak '09er twin scum. They need to pay, all three of those miserable little bastards._ She made her way through the building and left and started to walk through the streets until she stopped and saw Cam. She smiled a little and waved. "Hello, Cam."

"Hello, Brandi," Cam greeted her. "What's going on?"

"You're not going to believe it or like it," Brandi told him. She filled him in on what had just happened. "And now that psycho twin has convinced not just his pathetic sidekicks to try to turn me in but everybody including my best friends! I mean, I'm reasonably sure that Diane and Melanie will hesitate and maybe even tip me off but even so. Alec, Biggs, and Sasha deserve to suffer, die, or both."

Cam thought it over before nodding in agreement. "I'm with you on this one, Brandi." He motioned to her and they started to walk off. "You can hide at my place at least for awhile. Is there anything else that I can do to help?"

"Thank you, Cam," Brandi said. She thought about it for a few moments before she smiled again. "As a matter of fact, there is." She whispered her idea to Cam, who laughed.

"Nice," he said. "One down and the other suffering like mad. You are a genius."

"Born and bred, baby," Brandi agreed.

TBC


	39. Chapter 35a

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that appeared on it belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"What's the dealio?" Max asked Sasha as the two of them plus Gem and Rena walked through Terminal City the following day. "Have you heard anything on the Brandi front?"

Sasha shook her head. "None of us have heard a thing. I called Alec to get an update from him and he told me that he'd checked in with Dix here this morning before he left to go to work and Dix said all was quiet. Dina, Bryan, Kai, Diane, Ted, Melanie, Lori, and Cam all called into him first thing as well and apparently none of them has seen even a glimpse of Brandi, not even Diane and Melanie."

"Do you think that Diane and Melanie would be willing or are covering for Brandi as we speak?" Gem asked.

"Based on the meeting last night, I would have to say no," Sasha said. "They were even more floored by this than the rest of this. I really can't blame them there. The person who'd been their best friend their whole lives did something so heinous that even scares a fellow transgenic witless." She bit her lip. "As much as I rag on Diane and Melanie, they're not stupid, Diane especially. Despite their friendship with Brandi, they know what they have to do."

"Thank goodness," Max said. "At least that's one less thing that we have to worry about."

"Yeah," Gem agreed. "We definitely have enough on our plates."

"Whatcha guys talking about?" The four X5 women turned to see Riley approaching them.

"Hey, Riley," Max said. "Don't you have work?"

"Getting Mom practice in?" Riley remarked. She grinned. "Sorry, Max. I've got the day off today."

"It's cool," Max said. "Sorry for going all Mom on you."

"No problem," Riley said. She looked off in one direction and grinned wickedly. "Speaking of which, here comes Daddy." That got Rena laughing and Sasha smiling and Gem trying to hide a smile while shaking her head in disbelief.

Zack's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he approached them. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," Max said. She kissed him. "Hey, baby. Enjoying your own day off?"

"Now that I have my errands done," Zack agreed. "I was thinking about going over to the gym to get a workout in. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure," Max said. "I can do some light exercise. Right, Sasha? Gem?"

"Sure," Sasha said. "I'll even come with you to walk you through it." She started to walk off with Max and Zack but stopped. "Damn. Biggs left this cell phone back at the apartment and I'd told him that I would bring it over to him by lunchtime."

"Chill," Rena said. "I'll go grab it for you. I don't have to be into work until noon and their offices are on the way to the garage so it's no problem for me to swing there on my way to work. Speaking of apartments, how are you guys coming along with finding a good place out in the city?"

"We're planning on signing the papers on one next week," Sasha said. She stretched. "Thanks, Rena."

"No problem," Rena said.

"I'll go with you," Gem said.

"Is this your way of asking me for a ride to your job?" Rena teased.

"Considering that CeCe stopped by my apartment earlier to ask to borrow my car because your boyfriend is fixing hers, then yes," Gem replied. The two of them laughed and waved and the six of them split up.

* * *

Brandi and Cam made their way into a still-abandoned apartment directly across the street from Biggs and Sasha's. They sat down on the dusty living room floor and began to unpack the contents of the cases that they'd been carrying. Cam's expression was calm but otherwise blank but Brandi had a small smile on her face.

"I am so going to love beating the bitch at her own game," she said as she put the sniper rifle together. She snapped on the silencer and set the gun down next to her.

"It will be satisfying," Cam agreed. He finished putting together his own rifle and also put it down next to him. "After we get Sasha and hopefully Biggs today, how do you want to do Alec?"

Brandi looked thoughtful. "I was thinking that we move on to your area of expertise and do something involving explosives. We'd probably have to wait and make sure him and that '09er bitch that he's shacking up with and their brat kid are all out of their apartment before we plant anything. That's definitely going to have to take more precision than this will." She made a face. "As much as I hate and have always hated Alec, he certainly was an exceptional soldier. We both know that it can and has been done, but getting the drop on him still won't be easy."

"Agreed," Cam said. They picked up their rifles and opened the window enough for them to stick them through so that they could get good shots. After a few moments, Cam grinned. "Bingo. Sasha has been sighted and it looks like she's brought a friend with her. It's not Biggs, but I know that face though I don't know her exact name. It's 849 from Unit 4."

"I never liked her," Brandi said. "I've got the shot on Sasha. You take 849." Cam nodded and they carefully sighted in and then fired. Brandi started to smile in satisfaction as she saw the redhead in the other apartment clutch at her chest area and go down from the hit, but then frowned a little. "She wasn't pregnant. Damn, it was the '09er."

"849 is down. Chest wound," Cam said. He turned to look at Brandi and smiled reassuringly. "Hey, this will still cause Sasha a hell of a lot of suffering and you did get an '09er. God only knows how much crap they caused the rest of us and especially you to go through." He set his rifle down and took off the backpack that he'd been wearing and unzipped it and took out a bottle of champagne and two champagne flutes. "That's still cause for celebration, don't you think?"

Brandi perked up. "True." She put her own rifle down and the two of them moved into the kitchen.

TBC


	40. Chapter 35b

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Sasha and Max were laughing as they talked and watched Zack working out when suddenly Sasha stopped and frowned. She made her way to a nearby bench and sat down on it, deep in thought. Max grew concerned and sat down next to her. Zack and Riley, who'd been working with the weights, also noticed and went over to her.

"Sasha, what's wrong? Is something wrong with the baby?" Max asked.

"No," Sasha said. She shook her head, though she clearly was still troubled. "I've just…I've got a bad feeling, Max. Something's wrong. Something is wrong with somebody or something and I don't know, it's as if my own blood is yelling at me that there's trouble. Fuck."

Zack exchanged a look with Max and Riley. "Call the nursery to check on the kids. Riley and I will double check your apartment." He and Riley quickly went into their respective locker rooms, changed, and were out the gym door in barely a minute. "Do you think Sasha's right?"

"I hope not," Riley said. "I just hope that I won't regret leaving my personal weapons back in my apartment."

"Me too," Zack said. They reached Biggs and Sasha's apartment building and went inside. They started walking up the stairs to the fourth floor, but Riley suddenly paused and sniffed the air about halfway between the third and fourth floors. Zack frowned. Riley, like himself, had a little wolf DNA so her sense of smell was even more sensitive. "Riley?"

"I don't know," Riley said. "It's coming through pretty vague. You should be able to pick it up in a sec." They continued on and sure enough, Zack caught onto the faint smell that had gotten Riley's attention. The smell got stronger the closer they got and by the time that they reached the fourth floor and had stepped into the hallway, Riley's eyes widened and she bolted down the hall for the apartment. Zack also placed the smell and he almost flew down the hall too, his heart in his throat. He stopped short when he saw Riley at the apartment door and she slowly turned the knob and went inside. She gasped when she saw Gem and Rena lying unconscious on the floor, red staining the front of both of their chests. "Oh my God." She quickly got to Gem's side and checked for a pulse. "She's barely got a pulse, Zack. We need to get her to med bay pronto."

Zack nodded. He held his breath as he checked Rena, only releasing it when he saw that the wound was just up and left of her heart. _Another half an inch and…_ He couldn't finish the thought. Instead, he reached over and gently shook her. "Rena, wake up. Come on, little sister, wake up."

Rena groaned and squinted up at Zack. "You wanna help me figure out whether it's my shoulder and chest that hurt worse or my head?"

"You must have hit your head when you fell," Zack said, relieved. He looked up at Riley. "Make the call." He watched Riley somehow take her cell phone out and speed dial the med bay to get help and inform them of what had happened while still trying to help Gem as much as she could. Zack nudged Rena again. "Stay awake, Rena."

"I know," Rena said, sounding dazed. "I've had concussions before." She turned her head and finally saw Gem and what little color had been in her face left it. "Oh my God, is she okay? Will she be okay?"

"I hope so," Zack said. He grabbed a throw off of the couch and held it against Rena's injured shoulder. "Rena, do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah, I think so," Rena said. "I—Gem and I were talking and I think Gem had been cracking a joke about some guy who works with her and I was laughing and the next thing that I knew I heard glass break and I didn't have enough time to get out of the way. As I was going down, I could see Gem also taking a hit and then the next thing I know is you waking me up." She managed a snort. "Whoever shot me couldn't even get it right." Riley suddenly looked up and towards the window. Her face darkened and Zack could almost see the expletives coming. He looked in the same direction and after a moment he knew that he couldn't blame her. He was thinking the same thing.

"Later," he said quietly. Riley nodded. Only moments later, transgenic paramedics arrived and took over working on Gem and Rena. Zack squeezed Rena's hand as they put her on a stretcher. "Hang in there, little sister. We'll be by the med bay as soon as possible." Rena gave him a thumbs-up with her right hand as they took her and Gem away. Zack had a few words with the paramedics before he took out his cell phone and speed dialed a number.

"Dix here," Dix said. "What's going on, Zack?"

"We've got a massive emergency," Zack said grimly. "Rena and Gem were just shot by a sniper but most likely snipers while they were in Biggs and Sasha's apartment. Riley and I found them. Our best theory is that it was Brandi and possibly somebody else."

"Why—oh," Dix said. "Mistaken identity?"

"Why else?" Zack said. "Have a security team standing by. Riley and I are going to try to locate Brandi. We'll notify you if and when we find her."

"Will do," Dix said. "I'll hear from you then."

"Thanks, Dix," Zack said. He disconnected and then speed dialed another number. "Max. Sasha was right." He took a deep breath. "Rena and Gem had been shot in Sasha's apartment."

"What?" Max said.

"Max, calm down," Zack said. "Rena seems like she's going to be okay, she was hit more towards the shoulder, but Gem took it right in the chest. She's still alive as far as I know though."

"Where are they being taken?" Max asked.

"Terminal City med bay," Zack said.

Max's voice took on a hard edge. "Do I even have to guess who was behind this?"

"Don't waste your breath on that," Zack confirmed. "Riley and I are going to track Brandi down. Call the others and let them know."

"We'll meet you in med bay," Max said. Zack disconnected and he and Riley went into Biggs and Sasha's bedroom. Riley went over to a non-descript looking trunk and opened it, revealing Biggs and Sasha's personal weapons stash. Riley reached for the hip holster that was obviously Sasha's and took it and secured it around her waist.

"I have a feeling that neither of them will mind if we borrow a few of their things," she said dryly as she handed Zack the other hip holster.

"You're most likely right," Zack agreed as he fastened it on. Riley found a tranquilizer gun and some darts and handed them to Zack, who loaded a dart into the gun, placed it in the holster, and put the extra darts in one of the pockets of his jeans. He reached in the trunk for a handgun and checked to see if it was loaded before securing that. "How good are you at stealth?"

"As good as Jeff is in that area, I kicked his ass at it every day of the week," Riley replied. She found another tranquilizer gun and loaded it as well before securing that and a handgun. She grabbed a handful of zip ties and shoved them into a pocket before she and Zack left the apartment.

* * *

Brandi laughed as she poured Cam and herself their second glass of champagne. "I think that you might just be right about that one, Cam. I always thought that trainer was harsher on us than the other ones. I could definitely see why Diane would have turned him down, though. He smelled worse than 665 did after he'd gotten in trouble that one time and they made him do ten laps around the entire facility at night before lights out." She took a sip of her drink. "Diane once told me about how she had standards and how fortunate for her it was that most of the guards met them."

"I slept with her twice," Cam recalled. "One time was the night before the start of the first breeding program and the second was back in January of 2019. Good times."

"Speaking of good times," Brandi said. "I wonder what I'm going to do after I take care of all three of those idiots." She looked thoughtful. "God only knows I'm going to get out of the United States and Canada is just as obviously out of the question. I always liked warm weather." She grinned. "Maybe I'll go to the Bahamas. Can you imagine how nice that would be?"

"That would be incredible," Cam said.

"You'd be welcome to join me," Brandi said. "Especially if they somehow get wise to you."

Cam looked touched. "Thank you." He smiled. "You know, I remember when I was a kid that I'd thought that you were one massive bitch. Then as you and myself especially grew up I came to realize that you weren't nearly that bad and we got along decently enough. Hell, I think that the last time that I got angry with you was when I was thirteen."

"Very true," Brandi agreed. She raised her glass. "Here's to good times ahead of us." Cam raised his glass as well and they took another sip of champagne, smiling at each other.

* * *

Zack and Riley entered the building across the street. "If there are two shooters, and based on the distance between the two shots on the window I would have to say that there are, this could get messy," Riley said. "I know that the two of us could take them out if we go straight two-on-two, but as much as I hate saying this, we should keep them in as much of one piece as possible for when they're questioned."

"I know," Zack said. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. _Stay calm_, he thought._ Brandi and her accomplice if she has one will pay for hurting Rena soon enough. You need to keep a clear head, soldier._ Zack and Riley went up to the correct floor and saw that the door to the apartment that directly faced the living room of Biggs and Sasha's was ajar. He motioned Riley forward and they crept over to the door and listened in. After a moment, Zack began to gesture to Riley. _You were right. There are two of them, Brandi plus a male. Do you recognize the other voice?_

Riley nodded. _I do. It's Cam, designation X5-237. He's also from Alec's unit._

_Got it,_ Zack replied. He thought for a few moments. _We go in and one of us lures the one of them out so the other can hit him or her with their tranquilizer gun then we go in for the other one._ He waited for Riley's acceptance of his plan before they slipped silently inside. They made their way though a small hallway and then into the living room before each hid behind a piece of furniture and held their breath as they waited to see if either Brandi or Cam had heard them. When they didn't hear anything except for the other two's chatter and laughter, Zack discreetly motioned to Riley before he nudged the decrepit armchair that he was hiding behind. They heard a chair scrape in the kitchen and Cam got up and walked into the living room. Before Cam could do anything, Riley fired her tranquilizer gun, hitting Cam with a dart right into his neck. Before he could hit the ground, Riley caught Cam and noiselessly lowered him down to the floor and secured him with zip ties. A few moments later, they heard Brandi get up to check on what was going on. She entered the living room and saw Riley standing over the unconscious Cam and narrowed her eyes.

"252," she said. "What do you think that you're doing here with Cam?"

"Gee, Brandi, what does it look like I'm doing?" Riley said sarcastically. "Oh, that's a nice gun that you've got. Did you shoot either Gem or Rena with that or did you use another toy? Either way, that was a classy move. Didn't your egg donor tell you that attacking from the rear means that you're a wuss?"

"No, I was simply demonstrating that I had paid attention during my assassination lessons years ago back at Manticore," Brandi said. "I might not have gotten rid of the twin that I had wanted to, but at least I took out an '09er and maybe it wasn't Biggs that Cam took down, but it's not like either him or I liked 849 very much. Better than nothing, I say."

_Don't kill her yet, Zack._ "Wow, that makes you even double a wuss. You wouldn't go head-to-head with what you believed was a pregnant woman?" Riley said in mock shock. "Oh, Brandi. Where did you go wrong?" Brandi's eyes darkened and Riley repressed a wince. _Oh, shit. Maybe I did take that one too far. I know that I can normally take her on without too much of a problem, but I wouldn't underestimate the psychotic at all!_

"Where did I go wrong?" Brandi repeated. "Listen to me, little girl, I didn't go wrong anywhere." She grabbed for Riley's throat, but Riley got out of the way just in time and the two women began to circle each other. "I was simply misunderstood."

_That's it. Focus on me and nothing else._ "Misunderstood? I'm not sure if I would have put it that way."

"Oh, I was misunderstood, you little bitch," Brandi hissed. She lunged for Riley, who jumped over Cam and out of the way. Brandi started to move towards Riley, but Zack shot her with his own tranquilizer gun and she dropped to the ground, out cold. He holstered the gun and secured Brandi before looking and Riley, who didn't suppress a wince that time.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have called her a wuss a second time," she agreed. Her expression sobered. "We should get these two taken care of." Zack nodded and after Riley had pulled out her handgun and held it over Brandi and Cam, took out his cell phone and speed dialed Dix once more.

"Dix, it's Zack," he said. "The other shooter was Cam. He'd shot Gem and Brandi had shot Rena. Riley and I have secured both Cam and Brandi. Send the security team to 333 Drake Avenue, apartment 4E to pick them up." He disconnected the phone and ran a hand through his hair and exchanged pained looks with Riley before waiting for the security team.

TBC


	41. Chapter 35c

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Just so nobody gets confused about who is who among the previously unnamed X5s in Alec's unit, Randy is 665, Lark is 578, Ian is 107, Walt is 263, and Nikki is 619.

"I'm sorry that took so long," Riley apologized as she finally joined the others nearly half an hour later. There were too many of them to wait in the small med bay waiting room, so they were gathered in the control room in the main building. "They wanted me to stick around for a few while they made sure that they secured Brandi and Cam in the cells downstairs. Jeff, Mole, and that guy Frick are down there pulling guard duty if and when Brandi and Cam wake up from the tranquilizers on the wrong side of the bed. I need to get back down there soon so that I can join them. I wanted to update you guys on what was going on and also to see if anything has changed here." She looked worried. "Are they okay?"

"They called in with an update ten minutes ago," Max said. "They're both still in surgery. They think Rena will be okay, though. She has a mild concussion and the bullet missed a main vessel by less than an inch, but she should pull through no problems. No other word on Gem, though."

"Okay," Riley said. "I'll check in again with you guys later." She left the room.

"I hope they get done with the surgery soon," Zane said. He'd arrived as soon as he could from the shop and even though he knew that Rena was going to be all right, he still looked very shaky. "This sucks."

"It does," Zack agreed. "Krit got everything under control back at the shop?"

"Yeah, little bro's got everything under control back at work," Zane said. "Jace is cool at your place of business?"

Biggs nodded and shifted Andrea on his lap. As soon as he'd arrived from his and Zack's offices, he and Sasha had grabbed their daughters from the Terminal City nursery. Both of them didn't want to let any of the three young girls out of their sights for even a nanosecond. "Jace is holding down the fort. Everything's fine there."

Alec shook his head and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "Jesus. How could this…two of my own. As much as I didn't like either of them, I still knew them for almost my entire life and I was their commander for half of that time. How did I fail them? Where did _I_ go wrong?"

"There wasn't anything that you could have done any differently," Zack said. "Trust me. From what I've heard, Brandi was lucky to make it as far as she did before she lost it. If I had to guess, all of that time in Psy Ops may have saved her life or at least extended it. What if she'd continued along the eating disorder route? What if Sasha hadn't caught her that one morning and she'd let herself go to the point where her body got so weak that it shut down or that if she was sent to Psy Ops for that or another reason, her body wouldn't have been able to take the abuse that those bastards loved to dish out? Alec, you…" He turned his head to give Sasha a sympathetic look as well. "…and Sasha and Biggs have all done everything that was possible for you to do to help Brandi."

"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" Sasha said. She adjusted her grip on Jade and laughed bitterly. "Oh wait, you know Rena like the back of your hand. My bad."

"Sasha, sweetheart…" Biggs started to say 'calm down,' but decided against it and just rubbed his free hand against Sasha's back. He looked over at Alec. "Have you reached any of our out-of-towners about this?"

"Yeah, I was actually able to speak with all of them," Alec said. "Neither Randy, Ian, Nikki, Lark, nor Walt were too happy to hear from me to begin with and all of them were flat-out shocked when I told them what had happened."

"Are any of them on their way to Seattle at least for the time being?" Sasha asked.

"Randy is going to come over for a week or two," Alec said. "Lark and Nikki both said that there was no way that they'd be able to find somebody to watch their kids while they were away and they're both on the East coast so it would be a long trip for a one-year-old. Ian said that would definitely not be able to get the time off from his job and Walt said that it doesn't look too possible that he would be able to get time off either, but he would ask and he'd get back to me or Dix later." He shrugged. "I guess we'll see."

"Here's what I don't get," Syl said. She pulled the wiggling and eager-to-escape Julia back onto her own lap. "I know that all of us are furious beyond belief at what Brandi and Cam did to Rena and Gem, but how much room do some of us have to work with, you know what I mean? Was Cam and especially Brandi any better or worse that Ben was?"

"Good call," Max agreed. "Ben…as far gone as he was when I'd finally met up with him again, I could still see traces of the real him beneath all of the madness. When we'd had our final fight in the woods, he didn't want to kill me and I don't think that he would have wanted to get other innocent people get hurt." She sighed. "Brandi, on the other hand, obviously didn't and probably still doesn't give a rat's ass about collateral damage." Max frowned uneasily. "Unless said collateral damage was Diane or Melanie. Damn, this mental going around in circles can give you a migraine. No matter how much on one level I can't believe that I'm saying this, I think the bottom line is that as heinous as what Brandi did and what she got Cam to agree to do, we should at least partially forgive them. Not let them go for this and the murder that Brandi committed up in Canada, God no, but…you know what I mean?"

"Do you think that Gem or Rena will forgive them on at least one level when they recover?" Brin asked.

"I think that Gem will," CeCe said. "That's the kind of person that she usually is. She definitely won't forget, but she'll at least somewhat forgive." She wiped her eyes. "You're right. This whole situation makes me more sad than anything else."

"But hell, the ordinaries have people as messed up as Ben was and Brandi and Cam are," Zane said sarcastically. "Why should transgenics be any different?" He sighed. "It's times like this that make me understand why some ordinaries smoke." He smirked when he saw the look on Zack's face. "Chill, Zack, I'm not going to start smoking." The typical exchange lightened the mood somewhat and several of them laughed a little bit.

"Yeah, it's bad enough too see Mole with his cigars," Max said. "Can you imagine if Zane smoked those things too?"

"Oh, somebody help us," Syl groaned. "The two of them standing around smoking those disgusting things while Mole's practically surgically attached to that shotgun of his and talking about nothing but weapons, mechanics, and explosions and things like that. It'd be like watching two small children." Syl stopped suddenly and her eyes and those of the other waiting transgenics drifted over to Andrea as it hit them that she could conceivably lose her mother. Syl sounded subdued when she spoke again. "Me and my big mouth."

"It's okay," Max said. _Time for a subject change._ She turned to Zack. "Do you have any idea when Wayne's going to be getting out of that surgery that he's doing right now over at Harbor Lights?"

Zack shook his head. "All I know is that it's going to be awhile. The nurse that I'd spoken to said that he had gone in to the O.R. not even half an hour before to help that car accident victim and due to the nature of the patient's injuries, she guessed that it was going to take several hours at the very least that was only twenty minutes ago. Maggie should be finished with her own surgery within the next couple of minutes, though, so she should be reachable soon." He ran a hand through his hair. "I even called my parents to update them on the situation. I…" Zack stopped and sighed. "How many more times?"

"If we're really lucky, this will be the last one," Max said. She had one hand on her stomach and one hand on Zack's shoulder as if she was trying to calm both her unborn child and her fiancé. "It'll be okay, Zack."

"Eventually…but when?" Zack said quietly.

"I don't know, but it better be really soon," CeCe said.

"Absolutely. I am so sick of waiting for just anything," Brin agreed. "God, I just want something to do."

Sasha managed a small smile. "Do you want to hold Jade? She's getting restless and I'm having a hard time holding on to her." She turned to the child. "What do you say, Jade? Do you want to go to Aunt Brin? Huh?"

"Want go, Mommy," Jade agreed. Brin walked over to them and picked Jade up.

"You are getting big, girl," Brin said. "What has your mom been feeding you and Julia?"

"Ceweal," Jade said with a smile. That got some laughter out of the others, but it stopped when they heard footsteps approaching the main building from the direction of the med bay. The adults held their breath as the footsteps came closer and a few moments later, one of the medical transgenics approached them.

"I have an update for you," he said. "Rena is still in surgery, but she should be out within an hour. Like we said before, the bullet just missed a main vessel and further investigation showed that nothing else that was critical was damaged. The bullet has been removed and we're repairing what damage had been done."

"And Gem?" Alec asked tensely.

"The bullet clipped her heart," the transgenic doctor said. "She lost a lot of blood. She received transfusions of both X5 blood as well as blood from my type and we tried everything else that we could have done, but there was too much damage. Gem was pronounced dead eight minutes ago."

There was complete silence not only from the X5s, but from everybody else that was in the control room as well. "No," CeCe said shakily. "That's not right. That can't be possible. She—I was told that she was alive when the paramedics got to the apartment. How could she have been alive then and dead now?"

"She was alive when Riley and I got there," Zack said. "How could she have died?"

"To be honest, I'm surprised that Gem lasted as long as she did before she died," the doctor said. "I'm really sorry."

"Sorry? You're sorry? My best friend just died and all you are is sorry?" CeCe exploded. She broke down in tears. Most of the others began to cry as well.

"What now?" Zack asked.

"We'll make the necessary arrangements," the doctor said. "Someone can talk to us when you're ready. I'm sorry." He left the control room.

"Oh…my…God," Alec said slowly. He tried to wipe the tears from his face, but they kept on streaming down his face.

Biggs shook his head, his shoulders shaking with the effort of trying not to cry. "I just don't know—Andrea, oh Andrea…" He couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

"Let me take her," Sasha said softly. She took the toddler from Biggs' lap and looked at her, her heart breaking for the child. _She's less than two weeks short of her first birthday and she's lost her mother. The poor girl!_ She gently stroked the side of Andrea's face and Andrea looked up at her stepmother, confused.

"Where Mommy?" she asked.

"Mommy—your mommy isn't here," Sasha said. "Mommy went away up to heaven. She didn't want to go at all, she wanted to stay right here with you, but she didn't have a choice."

"Come back?"

"No," Sasha said tearfully. "Your mommy can't come back."

"No?" Andrea whimpered.

"Oh, Andrea," Sasha said. She hugged the little girl. "I am so sorry. We all wish that your mommy could come back and if there was absolutely anything that we could do that could bring her back, we'd do it." She pulled away so that she could look at Andrea. "I'll tell you what can and will be done, though. Your father is going to be there for you and so will your sisters and all of your aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and I'll be there for you, too." She kissed the child on the top of her head. "I love you, Andrea, and I'll make sure that you'll be okay and safe and everything good, just like your mommy would want me to. I'll be there, I promise." She felt Andrea's little arms tighten around her and she turned to look at Biggs. The look of love and gratitude that she saw in his eyes brought a soft smile to her face and she reached over and squeezed his hand.

TBC


	42. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Caroline raced into the living room of her apartment from Jenny's bedroom when she heard the phone ring. She grabbed the receiver of the cordless phone and answered it on the second ring. "Hello, Robinson residence. Who may I ask is calling?"

"It's just me, Mom," Becky said. She sounded subdued.

"Hi, honey," Caroline said. She sat down on the couch, concerned. "How have you been holding up?"

"I don't even know for sure," Becky confessed. "Gem's funeral was today. A lot of us attended, even several from Alec's old unit." She sighed. "That was hard. Poor little Andrea. I'm not sure if she really understood exactly what was going on, but she was crying most of the time all the same and her birthday is just over a week away. Max told me that Gem had been really excited about it and was planning something really nice for Andrea and the other kids before she was killed."

"It's hard to lose somebody, especially when they were taken away so young," Caroline said. She closed her eyes. _God, it still hurts like hell to think about Chris and Lisa. I miss them so much._ "Both Lisa and your uncle Chris were still both in their twenties when they died. It was agony at both of their funerals because of how young they were and how senseless their deaths seemed. I'll be honest with you, Becky, it still feels to me like their lives were wasted because of somebody else's stupidity or cruel actions and I still get so angry because of that."

"I know what you mean," Becky said. "Even though it turned out that Felicia lived and is all right now, I still want to strangle the two trainers who had accused her of accidentally killing the third one during that exercise." She shook her head, even though she knew that Caroline wouldn't be able to see it. "This whole mess is so surreal, Mom. I'm so confused."

"Don't worry sweetheart, things will sort themselves out," Caroline assured her. "Just give them time. How is your brother?"

"Zack's doing pretty well, all things considered. He's one strong bastard, that's for sure," Becky said.

"What about Max and the baby? Is Rena doing better?"

"Max and the baby are both fine," Becky told Caroline. "No problems there. Rena's recovering pretty well. She should be one hundred percent again in another day or two." She grew quiet again.

"Is something else wrong?" Caroline asked.

"Cam and Brandi are scheduled to be executed in Terminal City tomorrow," Becky said. "I ended up drawing the duty of being one of the 'executioners.'" She laughed bitterly. "This is fucking stupid, Mom. I've done how many things over the course of my time in Manticore that were as bad and sometimes worse and this still gets to me? I used to be in better control of myself than this. What ever happened to that girl?"

"She didn't go anywhere," Caroline reassured her older daughter. "The difference, or at least one of them, is that now you have people that you can turn to when you feel like things are getting to you so you don't have to hold them in like you did when you were still in Manticore. You still have the same control, you're just venting in a different manner than you had previously."

"Yeah, I used to get my frustrations out on the punching bags in the gym," Becky recalled. "Not that I still don't do that once in awhile, but you know what I mean."

Caroline nodded. "I do. Just hang in there and if you still feel bothered by this tomorrow once it's over, don't hesitate to call myself or your father."

"I will," Becky promised. She took a deep breath. "Speaking of Dad, where is he?"

"We don't live together, Becky," Caroline said, amused.

"Yet," Becky said.

"Excuse me?"

"Come on," Becky said. "The fact that you took up Dad's offer of you and Jenny crashing at his house in D.C. until you found a place aside, you decided to rent an apartment instead of buying a house even though you can easily afford one in that area which says to me like you're planning or at least hoping that you and Dad will move in together for real one of these days."

"Unbelievable," Caroline said. "Just before I sent Jenny to bed, she kept asking me when your father was going to ask me to marry him already and get it over with because it's so obvious."

"Has Dad asked you yet?" Becky asked wickedly.

"No, but if and God-willing when he does, you and Zack will be the first people that Dennis and I will call," Caroline promised. "You know, I thought that you took after your father more than you did me but not only did you almost repeat what Jenny had asked me earlier, you also sounded suspiciously like your uncles when I spoke to them over the phone yesterday."

"My human genes did come from two different people," Becky said. "I should get going, Mom. On top of everything else that's going on, I still have assignments to grade. I'll talk to you again soon."

"Absolutely," Caroline said. "Good-night, Becky."

"Good-night, Mom," Becky said.

Caroline hung up the phone and sighed._ Those poor kids. When are things just going to settle down for them? If it's not one thing, it's another. How do they keep rebounding time after time like they have been? It's a damn miracle._ She looked up when she heard the doorbell ring and got up and checked the peephole before smiling and opening the apartment's front door. "Hey, sweetie."

"Hey, beautiful," Dennis said. He kissed her. "I've got the DVDs you wanted to watch."

"Great," Caroline said. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Dennis said as he walked inside the living room.

"You just missed Becky," Caroline said. "She called me a few minutes ago. She was stressed about everything that's been going on for the past couple of days with Gem, Brandi, and Cam."

"So is Zack," Dennis said. "I spoke with him on the phone before I came over here. He's pretty stressed as well, but he's holding it together."

Caroline was silent for a few seconds. "Dennis, what was the thing that you've had the most trouble with over the course of your career? I mean, have you ever done anything that made you lose sleep?" Dennis gave her a questioning look and she elaborated. "Becky told me that she got drawn to be one of the people to execute Brandi and Cam tomorrow in Terminal City and that even though she's had to do worse thing on missions, it's still bothering her."

Dennis nodded grimly. "I've been ordered to do plenty of things that I was not proud of and that I lost my fair share of sleep over. Some of them, like in this situation, I knew deep down was necessary and in the end the right and only thing to do, but other times I was not only questioning my sanity but my commanding officer's as well." He sighed and pulled Caroline into a hug. "It's never easy."

"No," Caroline agreed softly. "It never is."

"Yeah," Dennis echoed. He kissed the top of her head before he pulled away a little and smiled. "They'll get through it. They always have before."

"You always know the right thing to say, Murphy," Caroline teased, though she still sounded a little subdued.

"Maybe I do," Dennis said. He pulled her back into his arms. "I love you, Caroline."

"I love you, Dennis," Caroline said. She leaned her head on his shoulder and they stood there like that for several minutes, silently supporting each other.

TBC


	43. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Sasha lay on the couch in her living room the following day, her eyes closed and one hand on her stomach. She suddenly opened her eyes when she heard a key being put into the front door lock and then the door itself opening. She turned her head to see Alec, Biggs, and Brin enter the apartment. "Hey."

"Hey yourself, darling," Biggs said. He went over to his wife and gave her a kiss. "Are you doing okay?"

"Both of us are just fine," Sasha assured him. She sat up on the couch and started to say something, but stopped and sighed.

"It's done and over with," Alec said, guessing what Sasha had been about to say. He and Brin pulled up chairs to face Biggs and Sasha and sat down. "Their bodies were sent to the temporary morgue down near the med bay."

"What's going to happen with them?" Sasha asked.

Alec scratched the back of his neck before he answered her. "I talked with Diane, Melanie, Randy, and Bryan a little bit ago since they were closest with Brandi and Cam. None of them were actually present when it went down, for that matter neither Biggs nor I were actually in the room when Becky and Mole did what had to be done, but they were all waiting just outside with me and Biggs and all four of them agreed to have Brandi's and Cam's bodies cremated. I don't know exactly where the ashes are going to be scattered, but they all actually said that they would let me know when they figured that detail out."

"'A soldier always pays his respects,'" Sasha quoted. "Even so, I can't believe that they're actually including us."

"I think the shock still hasn't worn off," Biggs said. He sat down next to Sasha. "I know that I'm still at least partly in la-la land."

"Who isn't?" Brin said quietly. She looked at Alec's still-troubled face and softly kissed him on the cheek before taking his hand. "This came out of left field."

"Yeah," Alec agreed. "If neither Diane nor Melanie nor Randy nor Bryan could see this coming, then how could anybody else?" Sasha laughed a little and Alec turned his head to face her. "What is it?"

"Just something that occurred to me," Sasha said. "As screwed up as at least most of us were, we all had at least one person that we considered to be a best friend or at worst somebody that we got along with on a regular basis. Let's face it, our unit was incredibly cliquish. Think about it. You had me, you, and Biggs in one group and Brandi, Diane, and Melanie in another, not to mention the third trio of Cam, Bryan, and Randy. Dina and Kai were always friends with each other and Ian and Walt got along pretty well. That arrogant little shit Ted somehow was best buddies with Reg and Nikki, Lori, and Lark were friends. It's too bad that somehow all of us were never able to connect and all get really along with each other when not on a mission, even back before March of '09."

Biggs nodded. "That would have been nice. If that had happened, do you think that it would have lasted?" He shook his head. "Somehow I doubt that even if we did get all get along with each other at one point or another that any of them would have been willing to take a bullet for one of us, you know what I mean?" He saw Sasha start to tremble and grew concerned. "Sasha, what's wrong?"

"She did," Sasha said shakily. "Rena did take a bullet for me. Damnit, Biggs, Brandi had been trying to kill me! You read the reports from the questioning sessions that they did with Brandi and Cam after they were caught and brought in. Brandi had overheard that we were all going to try to find her to bring her in for the murder in Canada and as always she put the blame right on you and me and Alec, but this time she was going to go the extra mile and actually kill us! If Brandi hadn't been able to aim properly for shit, then Rena would have died for me! Damnit…" She trailed off and began to cry.

"Rena's going to be fine," Biggs said soothingly. "Besides, you know that she's got no regrets over having been shot instead of you. You know that she has been and always will be willing to take one for the team. She'd do this a million more times for you and then some." He pulled Sasha into his arms and stroked her hair comfortingly. "It's going to be okay, baby. It's going to be okay." All four of them sat there silently for several minutes until they heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's just me," CeCe said quietly.

"Come on in," Biggs said. "The door's open." A moment or two later, CeCe entered the apartment. "Hey. Where have you been?"

"Finishing cleaning up Gem's apartment and getting her things put into temporary storage until we can finish sorting them out," CeCe said. She snorted. "We never had this problem back at Manticore, did we? Whenever somebody died back there or when out on a mission, they just went through their cells with a fine tooth comb and tossed their crap right out."

"Good thing they never went through you cell after you got tossed into Psy Ops after the Berrisford mission," Biggs said to Alec. "I think they would have thought that your spare boots were stink bombs and they'd have had to call in some haz mat teams and shut down our block for at least a week."

CeCe laughed a little bit. "Gem made a similar remark once to our old unit mate 309. His boots always smelled the worse after exercising."

Brin looked thoughtful. "How long were you and Gem best friends, CeCe?"

"We were friends for ages," CeCe said. "We got along with each other as soon as I was brought into the unit when I was two and it wasn't too much longer after that when we became best friends. She and I always liked to talk about everything. 558 was still our C.O. at the time and he had said that it was about time that we got somebody who liked to talk as much as 849 did." She smiled. "I remember when I met back up again with Gem after the fire. We didn't make it out together. I ended up with 722 and she went off on her own after a few months. I was in this supermarket buying food and I see this woman from the back and she's holding this screaming infant—I think Andrea was only about three weeks old at the time—and trying to get the poor kid to calm down long enough so she could finish her shopping and this jerk who happens to be passing by has the nerve to yell at her to shut the kid up and the woman turns her head and I recognized Gem right away and she gives the guy a look that I hadn't seen since the time that 259 thought that it would be a good idea to blow spitballs at Gem on a day when she'd just gotten back from a mission that she'd gone on with somebody from Unit 5 that she managed to salvage from the other guy's screwup. Anyway, Gem gives the moron that look, manages to cover both of Andrea's ears, and tells this guy off like nobody's business. She even used that phrase that we picked up from that Italian exchange student that we met when we were on that mission in London together. Remember that?"

"I do," Sasha said. She laughed. "You know that we only had to scope out the museum at night after it closed so after we got back to our hotel and got ourselves a couple of hours worth of sleep, we pretty much had the entire day free. One day two weeks into the assignment we were having lunch at this little restaurant right near the museum when this guy—an older guy for us, he was almost twenty at the time—comes over to our table and starts talking to us and it turns out that he's an exchange student from Milan. Anyway, we're talking and having fun and over the course of our conversation with him he teaches us this really nasty Italian swear that I'm not going to repeat but it's of the type that involves somebody's mother. Gem was flirting like hell with that guy."

"Oh! Remember the time back when we were sixteen and they took our units out to Florida for two weeks so that we could do some training exercises in swamp conditions?" CeCe asked. "Sasha, remember that one run where you and I had gotten paired together and we were working with Gem and Melanie? Gem was this close to throttling the priss that whole time!"

"I know! Whose bright idea was it to pair those two up for that exercise?" Sasha said, laughing. "Melanie would not stop bitching about her hair and bugs crawling up her uniform and one thing after another and Gem finally had to threaten to dismember her and use the parts as alligator bait." Sasha made a face frighteningly similar to the one that Melanie made when she was disgusted. "'Ew, alligators?'" The others cracked up at the imitation. "And Gem was like 'Yes, 714, alligators. If you continue to piss me off, I won't even bother to kill you first before I toss what's left of you over to them for lunch.' That finally got Melanie to shut up at least until we finished the exercise." She sighed. "Gem sure knew how to keep people in line."

"That she did," CeCe recalled. She wiped a tear from one of her eyes. "I miss her so much."

"We all do," Alec said. "And we all will miss the hell out of her. That's not going to change."

"As corny as this sounds, just think of the good things that she's done and accomplished in her life," Brin suggested. "Andrea has to be at the top of that list for sure. As horrible as the conditions under which she was conceived were, look how well that little girl has turned out so far."

"Absolutely," Biggs said. "Gem was a wonderful mother."

"No doubt," Sasha agreed. They were all quiet again for several minutes before Sasha spoke up again, her voice ragged with emotion once more. "This is going to hurt like hell for awhile, huh?"

"Probably," Alec said softly. He managed a smile. "It could be worse. At least we've got each other."

"Thank goodness," CeCe said. She also smiled a little.

TBC


	44. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

About two weeks later…

"Nineteen days," Zack murmured into Max's ear as he passed her in the kitchen of their apartment. He kissed her on the cheek and then made his way to the refrigerator.

Max smirked. "And I thought that I was the one who was counting the hours until my due date." She laughed. "Relax, Zack, everything's going to be cool. This is your baby, after all. Would a child of yours ever not do anything perfectly?"

"Granted, but you're the baby's mother," Zack reminded her. "The kid's equally capable of driving me absolutely crazy."

"And you'll love every minute of it," Max teased. She walked over to him and turned him around and kissed him. "Every single minute." Zack's eyes darkened with lust and he pulled Max into a deep kiss. They were lost to the world for several minutes before they heard throats clearing and jumped apart. Max looked over and narrowed her eyes when she saw Rena, Jondy, and Syl standing in the entrance to the kitchen. "Don't the three of you have to be at work despite the fact that it's a Saturday?"

"Not me," Jondy said cheerfully. "Nobody feels like getting up off their lazy asses to do some Pilates on a Saturday this week."

"It's only eight-thirty," Syl said, grinning. "The garage doesn't officially open for business until ten on Saturdays and Rena and I don't have to be in our offices there until nine-thirty." She laughed but then wasn't quite able to duck out of the way when Max threw an apple that had been in the bowl on the counter at her.

"What do you know?" Max said. "Being pregnant has no effect on one's aim at all." She made a face. "I wish that it didn't have the effect that it does on my bladder. Excuse me." She left the kitchen.

Zack turned to his sisters. "Are you feeling up to work, Rena?"

"Zack, I've been back at work since Monday," Rena said. She fought the familiar urge to roll her eyes. "Not to mention the fact that I sit behind a desk all day." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so sick of people asking if I'm okay and should I be at work and everything." Rena grew quiet. "Shit, I'm lucky that I'm even still here. I shouldn't complain."

"No harm taken," Zack said. He smiled a little. "And if you're complaining, little sister, then I know that you're fine."

"If that's the case, then she's definitely been fine for the last week or at least," Syl teased.

"What has gotten into you this morning, Syl?" Max asked as she returned from the bathroom. "Did you and Krit somehow manage to switch bodies?"

"We didn't switch bodies," Syl said.

Rena grinned wickedly and Max managed not to groan. She knew what that look meant and Rena came through as always. "But you did switch something else that has to do with your bodies, am I right? You know what I mean, they're called—" Rena was cut off when Syl punched her in the arm, but Rena still laughed. "Come on, sis. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Every single person in this room is at least seriously dating somebody and is at least hopefully getting some on a regular basis so it's not like—" This time, Max cut her off.

"We get the point, Rena," she said. "Hey, Jondy, since you're not working today, do you want to join CeCe and Sasha and me when we go shopping for stuff for the baby? CeCe's going to be here in about…" Max glanced at the clock that was on the kitchen. "…ten minutes." She grabbed another apple from the bowl but this time she went over to the sink and washed it before taking a bite out of it.

"Sounds cool to me," Jondy said. "Will they mind?"

"They shouldn't," Max said.

"If that's the game plan for you guys, then we're going to go," Syl said. "We'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Will do," Max said. She watched Syl and Rena leave the apartment and turned to Zack. "Aren't you supposed to be leaving for work right about now?"

"Yeah, before you start bitching about how late you're going to be if you don't get moving soon?" Jondy finished.

Zack sighed. "You guys do know me." He gave Max a kiss on the lips and Jondy a pat on the shoulder before he headed out of the apartment as well.

"Looks like it's just you, me, and junior," Jondy said. "Have you and Zack figured out the deal on names?"

"Yep," Max said. She took a last bite of the apple and threw the core into the trash can. "Settled that dealio last week."

"And? Which names did you pick?" Jondy asked.

Max smirked. "You're just going to have to wait until the kid's born like everybody else."

"Oh, come on," Jondy whined. "I'm one of your best friends. You're practically obligated to tell me." When Max laughed, she sighed and shook her head. "I give up—for now. But speaking of best friends, what about Original Cindy? Is she coming with this morning or is that guy Normal still working her and the others at Jam Pony to the bone?"

"Still working them to the bone," Max confirmed. "We're going to go shopping together on Tuesday when Normal actually found it in the goodness of his heart and in the schedule over there to give O.C. that day off. That'll be enough shopping for me, thank you very much. I guess shopping and all of that is okay, but I don't really understand why some women practically make a religion out of it. My old roommate Kendra loved to shop."

"I think shopping is fun, though I'm not one of those shopaholics either," Jondy said. "I remember when I was living in San Diego I had these friends that practically lived at the mall despite the fact that they, like the majority of the city's population, were damn close to being flat broke. It confused the heck out of me."

"I don't blame you," Max said. The two of them heard a car pull up to the building and grabbed their jackets and purses and left the apartment. They went outside and got into CeCe's car. "Hey. You're early."

"I had to get out of my apartment," CeCe said. "Today was just one of those days when I had to get out and do something."

"Been there, done that," Max said. Something caught her eye and she looked over at Sasha, her expression skeptical. "Sasha, you brought a gun with you to go shopping?"

Sasha's face was innocent. "What? Isn't it perfectly reasonable and within a woman's rights to carry a personal firearm with her for protection in this day and age?" She patted the pistol that was hiding in her jeans pocket. "I almost never leave home without it."

"If Zack gets our kid a gun before he or she is at least in high school, I will mutilate him," Max grumbled.

"Well, this is Zack," Jondy said. She grinned impishly. "That child you're carrying is going to be getting his or her first gun by his or her fifth birthday." She and the others laughed as CeCe pulled out into traffic.

TBC


	45. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Three weeks later…

Max lay down on the couch, her head in Zack's lap, who was reading a magazine that he was holding in one hand while his other hand stroked Max's hair. Max sighed impatiently. "I'm going crazy. This kid should have been out of me at least two days ago. Anthony was born right on his due date. Sasha told me that Jade and Julia were four days early. Why is this baby still in my body?"

"I don't know," Zack said. He shrugged. "Believe me, I want you to give birth almost as much as you do."

"I know," Max said. They heard a knock at the door. "Yeah, come on in."

"It's just us," Brin said as she entered the apartment with Becky and Ralph right behind her. She gave Max a sympathetic look when she saw the expression on her younger sister's face. "Going crazy, huh?"

"I've been crazy for the past week," Max said. "My moods are going crazy, my ankles are swollen, my bladder is stuck on full, the baby still hasn't been born yet, and to top it all off, my back's been bothering me like you wouldn't believe."

Zack looked concerned. "How long has it been bothering you? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"It wasn't that bad before," Max said. She straightened up. "It's been bothering me since I got up yesterday morning. At first it was really annoying but by late last night it was getting worse. I still managed to get a couple of hours worth of sleep, but it was just as bad when I woke up and it's as bad as ever now."

"That sucks," Ralph said. She made a face. "If that's what you have to go through then I'm never going to have kids."

"I see," Brin said, amused. She sat down on the couch next to Max. "Do you want to do anything today? Alec has the day off and he took Anthony with him and he and Biggs plus all three of the girls all drove out to the shore for the day to have a picnic, play on the sand, and generally stay out of the way so that Sasha and I could have the day to ourselves to do what we want. Do you want to get some lunch? I promise not to cook it."

Max laughed. "No, thanks. Maybe later I'll take you up on your offer if I still feel like I'm about to crawl out of my skin." She stood up and started to walk over to the kitchen but stopped, turned around, and gave Zack a smirk. "You can stay sitting on the couch if you want. I'm only going to get a glass of water."

"And the baby hasn't arrived yet," Becky remarked.

"Yet there's one practically across the living room from me," Zack muttered, glaring at his younger sister. "Zip it or I will find a way to beat the living hell out of you."

"You guys are supposed to be older than me, right?" Ralph said.

"Nobody brings out this side of Zack quite like Becky," Max said as she walked back into the living room. She drank her water and put the empty glass down on the coffee table. "But on the flip side, Becky seems to like being bratty and Alec-like around Zack a good chunk of the time." She looked back over at Brin. "No offense, sis."

"None taken," Brin said.

"Cool," Max said. She turned to look out the living room window and grinned. "I can't wait until the kid's old enough for me to start teaching him or her how to ride a motorcycle."

"Not until he or she is at least tall enough to be able to ride one," Zack said.

"I know," Max said.

"How old were you when you first learned how to ride?" Becky asked.

"Thirteen," Max said. "Jondy told me that she learned to ride at the same age. Rena told me that she first rode one when she was twelve, but how much taller has she always been than me and the rest of our sisters?" She rolled her eyes. "What about you, babe? When did you go for your first spin?"

Zack couldn't help grinning as the memory came to the front of his mind. "Twelve. It was in mechanics class back at Manticore before we left the first time around. Tinga, Kenny, Zane, and I all took our first rides on that day. They had this really nice Yamaha, it kind of reminds me a little of the one that Rena has now except not quite as powerful, and I jumped on after reading all of the textbooks and things like that and it was so much fun. Everybody had fun in that class that day. I didn't actually get my own bike until a year after we were gone. It would have—"

"—looked too suspicious for a thirteen-year-old to be riding a motorcycle," Max and Brin finished.

"I love you…" Zack said, trying to glare at Max but not quite managing it because of the soft look in his eyes. He shifted the look over to Brin and did manage a glare for her. "…and I'm going to have to apologize to Alec for killing you."

"Go ahead and good luck," Brin said. "Alec's pretty damn sneaky. You'd probably be able to beat the living daylights out of him, but you'd have to be able to get a hit in first."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Zack said.

"I don't know about that," Ralph spoke up. "I saw him spar back at Manticore. Not only did he have great technique and could hit really hard, he was really quick. It was hard for almost anybody aside from Jeff, Biggs, and Sasha to score a hit on Alec."

"So there," Brin said.

"Great, now you're jumping on the immaturity bandwagon?" Zack said. He shook his head. "Brin, I thought you would be able to act more mature than your son."

"What can I say?" Brin said. "I just need to let it loose once in awhile."

Max started to laugh, but stopped suddenly when she felt pain in her abdomen. She bit her lip and put a hand on her stomach. _Oh shit, was that a contraction?_ She looked around and saw neither Zack nor Brin nor Ralph had noticed, but Becky had. Max took a deep breath to calm herself down and the sensation passed. Becky walked over to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly enough so that the other three wouldn't be able to hear her.

"I will be," Max said. "It was just one and it's over." _Or it's just beginning._ She gave Becky a smile and tried to focus on the discussion going on between Zack, Brin, and Ralph.

"…there's no way that you would be able to beat Jeff in a one-on-one fight," Ralph said loyally. "I saw how good your technique is, but Jeff's is just as good and he's stronger and faster than you are by a little bit. You'd be absolute toast."

"Not necessarily," Zack said. "Jeff could always slip up. Even I have done that a couple of times when sparring. Not often, but sometimes."

"Wow," Becky said in mock surprise. "Are you actually admitting that you aren't infallible when it comes to hand-to-hand?"

"I never said that I was infallible, Becky," Zack said. He tried not to roll his eyes at her.

"No, you're just the guy who after he beat the living hell out of Zane in the T.C. gym a couple of months ago said something along the lines of 'Well? Now do you think that you can beat me?'" Brin said.

"Granted, but—"

"I hate to interrupt the fun here," Max said, cutting Zack off. "But I think going to the hospital at this point wouldn't be a bad thing. My water just broke."

"You're what?" The words came out of Zack's mouth calmly enough, but inside he was starting to panic. He saw Becky grin evilly at him and start to open her mouth and he knew what she was going to say and it took every bit of his willpower to both calm himself down and not snap back at his baby sister. He took a deep breath. "Let's get your bag and get there, then. I'll call Wayne to let him know."

"I'll call Mom and Dad," Becky said.

"I'll call the rest of our family," Brin said. "Plus Alec."

"I'll tell some of the others," Ralph said.

"Gee, can we all break into happy song afterwards?" Max said sarcastically.

Becky snickered. "Nice."

"Thank you," Max said. She sighed in relief. "I'm happy that Zack is keeping his cool."

"Me too," Becky said smugly. Max frowned in confusion at the triumphant look on Becky's face before she understood.

_Damn, she's good._ "Thanks," she said quietly. She hissed in pain as another contraction hit.

"You're welcome," Becky said.

"We should get going," Zack said.

"Good call," Max agreed as they left the apartment.

TBC


	46. Chapter 40a

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Max breathed a sigh of relief as the pain from the contraction passed only to gasp when another one hit her hard. "This sucks, this sucks, this sucks." She breathed deeply and turned to glare murderously at Zack and yanked her hand free from his. "If you even get the slightest idea about touching me ever again, I swear that I will disembowel you with a rusty spoon. Am I making myself clear?"

"Relax, Maxie," Wayne said from his place at the foot of the delivery room bed. He appeared to be as calm and professional as any doctor, but Max saw the usual wicked sparkle in his eyes and shifted her wrath from her fiancé to her brother.

"Stop enjoying this so freaking much," Max snapped. "Unless you feel like having me remove your dick with a pair of tweezers and a roll of duct tape, start behaving!"

"My lips are sealed," Wayne promised. _I might be a thrill seeker, but I don't have a death wish!_

"They better be sealed, you dirtbag weasel-loving son-of-a-bitch!"

Zack re-grasped Max's hand. "Maxie, it's okay. Wayne said that he'd behave."

"Don't sweat it, Zack," Wayne said. "I might not be primarily an OB-GYN, but I've been doing this for awhile."

"Yeah, and I've been doing this for the past eleven hours, six minutes, and twenty-nine seconds and I want it to be done and over with already," Max snapped.

"She's not the first mother whose baby I've had to deliver, plus I've been on hand to assist other doctors twice," Wayne continued calmly, as if Max hadn't interrupted him. "This type of behavior isn't uncommon among the moms."

"Well, that's good to know," Max said. She suddenly screamed when she felt an especially powerful contraction come on. "Hey Doc, you got any drugs?"

"Sorry," Wayne said sympathetically. "It's a no-go on the drugs. We don't have anything that's both strong enough to help a transgenic and safe enough for the baby." He checked Max's progress. "Besides, you should be ready to start pushing soon. You're in the home stretch now."

"Good," Max said. She briefly closed her eyes and breathed as deeply as she could. _This hurts so much. Why does it have to hurt like it does? I want this to be done and over with. I just want to hold my baby!_ She felt a hand stroking her forehead and turned her head and smiled at Zack. "Thank you, Zack. I'm sorry I'm being an über-bitch."

"It's okay, Maxie," Zack said. He continued to hold one of Max's hands in his right hand and stroked her forehead with the other. "You're doing great."

"I hope—" She sucked in her breath. "—so." The sound of voices coming from back down the hall gave her a distraction and she smiled again. "What do you think the motley crew is yapping about back there?"

"I bet you anything that Krit and Zane are making a bet about something," Wayne said automatically. He caught the look on Zack's face and he shrugged. "But if they're smart, they'll keep in mind what your reaction would be and keep their mouths shut."

"There's actually hope for you," Max said breathlessly, managing a smile despite the pain that she was in. _Not too much longer, don't let this drag on…_ She concentrated on her breathing and tried not to scream in pain. _I hate pain, I hate pain. _Her mind recalled on of her early lessons back at Manticore and she mentally rolled her eyes._ Fuck you, Lydecker, pain is NOT my friend!_

Wayne checked Max again and smiled up at her. "It looks like it's showtime, boys and girls. Time to start pushing." His eyebrows went up as Max, as the most painful contraction to that point hit her, screamed something at him in Spanish. "Yeah, I think that I'm limber enough for that to be anatomically possible but I don't feel like finding out right this minute. Push, Max."

"You're doing fine, Maxie," Zack said as Max pushed. "Just keep it up. It's not so bad, is it?" He mentally winced when he saw the evil look that Max gave him as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Not so bad?" Max screamed. "If you think this isn't so bad, then how about I jam a two-by-four down your throat and then throw you like a fucking javelin into the Pacific Ocean? What do you think now?" She cried out as she pushed again and squeezed Zack's hand hard.

"You win," Zack said. He winced when he heard and felt a crack in his hand. "It's almost over, Maxie."

"He's right," Wayne said. "Just keep pushing, Max. Keep going, little sister." Max managed a nod and kept pushing and a minute or so later, they all heard the unmistakable sound of a newborn crying as the baby was born. "You did it, Maxie!" Wayne held the baby up so that Max and Zack could see. "You guys have a little girl!"

"Oh my God," Max said. Tears streamed down both her face and Zack's. "We have a daughter? Really?"

"Absolutely," Wayne said. He handed the new baby to the nurses so that they could clean her up and wrap her in a blanket and a few minutes later, he took his new niece and placed her in her mother's arms. "Congratulations, you guys. She's absolutely beautiful."

"Wow," Zack said softly. He gently stroked his daughter's dark hair and she opened her eyes and looked up at her parents. Zack's own eyes widened in surprise. "She has my eyes."

"She does," Max agreed. "She's perfect. Absolutely perfect. Zack, I'm sorry—"

"No need to apologize," Zack said. He kissed Max. "It was worth it." Max nodded and turned her attention back to her little girl.

"What name did you guys pick out?" Wayne asked.

"Gabrielle," Max said, the look in her eyes becoming a little bit sad before brightening again. "We're going to call her by the nickname Gabby, though."

Wayne understood. "That sounds great." He grinned. "Elle would have been thrilled. She'll be even more happy up there wherever she is if little Gabby turns out not to be short like she was." That got a laugh out of Max and a smile from Zack. Wayne patted Zack on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's tell the gang about Gabby and then we'll get Max moved up to a private room and you can spend the rest of the night with them."

"Thank you," Zack said. He gave Max another kiss and Gabrielle a gentle kiss on her forehead before he followed Wayne out of the room.

Max sighed happily as she held her daughter and watched her fiancé and brother walk out. _This is incredible._ She looked down at Gabrielle and grinned. _I love you so much already. My beautiful baby girl._

TBC


	47. Chapter 40b

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Notes: Takes place at the same time as chapter 40a.

"This is taking forever," Syl remarked as she, most of the rest of her family, Alec, Becky, Biggs, Jeff, and Original Cindy sat in a waiting room in Harbor Lights. "It's been how long since Max's water broke?"

"Eleven hours," Becky said.

"More power to her," Original Cindy said. "I don't know how she can do it without wiggin' out."

Zane looked over towards the door of the room and grinned wickedly. "Oh, don't worry about it. Max is going nuts. She just threatened to disembowel Zack with a rusty spoon if he ever thinks about touching her again." He paused. "And she promised to remove a certain part of Wayne's anatomy with a pair of tweezers and duct tape because she thinks that Wayne is enjoying her misery too much."

"I don't know who I feel sorrier for," Krit said. "Max for going through all of this pain or Zack or Wayne for taking the verbal abuse that Max is dishing out." One of his eyebrows went up as he heard another colorful insult come from Max. "Oooh, that's a good one. Hey Brin, were you this bad when you gave birth?"

"No, I was worse," Brin said.

"Huh?" Krit said. "You were worse than Max?"

"Oh yeah," Alec said. "Trust me. You think Max is bad? Brin was insulting me, my manhood, and the manhood of every male that has ever lived in more languages than even I know how to swear in."

"God bless the internet," Brin remarked.

Jondy winced when she heard Max scream in pain. "Yikes. If this is what you have to go through to bring a child into the world, then Wayne is going to have to be disappointed because there is no way I am getting pregnant."

Jace smirked. "How much do you want to bet that you'll be the next one among us who gets knocked up?"

"What, you and Victor aren't already going for number two?" Jondy asked, giving Jace a dirty look.

"We're going to wait for at least a few more months before we try for another child," Jace replied. "I still say that Wayne's going to impregnate you for the first time before Victor impregnates me for the second time, though."

"You're on," Jondy said.

"What, the loser doesn't have to pay the winner in some way?" Rena teased.

"Yeah, and is there really a loser in that?" Biggs said.

"Shut up," Jondy said. She made a face when she heard Max yell out again. "This is taking way too long."

"Eleven hours isn't all that bad for a first baby from what I read from those books that Brin got before Tony was born," Alec said.

Biggs grinned evilly. "Yeah, eleven hours is nothing. Do you want to know how long Sasha told me that she was in labor for when she had the twins?"

"Something is telling me no, but go ahead anyway," Jondy said.

"A grand total of thirty-four hours," Biggs said. He had a satisfied look on his face and a grin that only grew when he saw the women in the room with the exception of Brin and Jace go pale.

"Thirty…four…hours?" Syl said slowly.

"Yep," Biggs said. "Sasha said that Jade was born after thirty-one and then it was another three before Julia arrived." Syl shook her head and walked across the room to the water fountain to have a drink. Biggs glanced around the room and laughed when he saw Becky's otherwise expressionless face go even paler in response to what he had said and turned to Alec, discreetly gestured towards Becky, and lowered his voice so that only Alec would be able to hear him. "I wish that I had a camera to take a picture of that."

"Me too, but you do know the possible consequences if you had done that," Alec said.

"I know," Biggs said cheerfully. "The danger is what would have made it fun."

Alec grinned. "I hear ya, bro."

Jeff looked amused. "You guys do know that even though I've been friends with the two of you for years, she's still my girlfriend and I would be morally obligated to beat the crap out of you as well if you had done that. Right?"

"We know," Alec said. He still had a huge smile on his face. "But you also know that wouldn't have that good of a chance of stopping us from doing that."

"True," Jeff conceded.

"What are you pretty boys talking about over there?" Original Cindy asked.

"Just some guy stuff," Biggs said. They were fairly quiet for a few minutes before any of them spoke up again.

"Oh, Wayne just told Maxie to start to push," Rena said. "Good, it might not be too much longer until the baby actually gets here."

"Yeah, but did you also catch what Maxie told Wayne to do?" Krit said, laughing. "In Spanish, no less. Nice." He turned to the other guys and started to say something, but stopped and all of the guys winced when they heard the next words to come out of Max's mouth. "Ouch. I really hope for Zack's sake that she wasn't serious when she screamed that at him."

"What did she say?" Original Cindy asked. Krit leaned over and whispered the threat in her ear and she shrugged. "She probably wasn't. If she didn't actually do it when she made a similar threat to Sketchy when he got drunk and grabbed her ass at Crash a few years ago then I don't think that she'll do that to her lover boy." Original Cindy looked thoughtful. "Though Sketchy never tried to cop a feel on Max since."

Alec looked at his right hand, a contemplative expression on his face. "I wonder if Zack's hand will be in worse shape than mine was after Brin had Tony. You really squeezed the daylights of it, babe."

"I'll do it again if and when we decide to have another baby," Brin said. "Sorry."

"It's all good," Alec said. "At least then I'll be somewhat prepared. That reminds me. Beck, when are your parents getting in?" He, Biggs, Krit, and Zane snickered when Becky glared at him. Jeff just shook his head in resignation.

"First of all, the only person that is allowed to call me Beck is in the delivery room holding Max's hand right now," Becky said. "And when I called my parents at around midnight, they said that they managed to get seats on the first flight out to Seattle in the morning so they'll be here before lunch tomorrow. Jenny's not coming with them because Mom and Dad will be staying until at least Wednesday and Jenny's got school."

"Oh, speaking of parents and kids," Jondy said. "I can't wait until Case and Charlie get here at the end of June."

"I can't believe that they're moving back here to the U.S.," Syl said. "In a good way, I mean. I just would have thought that Charlie would have wanted to move to Arizona to be closer to his sister."

"Apparently, he talked it over with her and they both decided that it would be really good for Case to be here with so many aunts and uncles and cousins that he had started to get to know when they were here for Christmas," Jondy said. "Not to mention the X9 kids that he was making friends with. Besides, Charlie, Case, and Tinga's sister-in-law will be back-and-forth visiting each other."

"I'm glad that—" Brin stopped suddenly when she and the other transgenics in the room heard the sound of a crying newborn coming from the delivery room down the hall. She squealed. "The baby's here!"

"And it's a girl!" Rena said happily. They laughed, cheered, and congratulated each other until the waiting room door opened a short while later and Zack and Wayne walked inside. Both of them were grinning like lunatics.

"Congratulations, bro," Krit said. He gave Zack a big hug and went to give him a high five when Zack stopped him. Krit glanced down at Zack's swollen right hand. "Sorry about that."

"It was more than worth it," Zack said. "I can't believe it. I can't believe that I have a little girl."

"Uh-oh," Syl said teasingly. "Something's telling me that she's already a major Daddy's Girl. Am I right?"

"You might be," Zack admitted.

"What's her name?" Jace asked eagerly.

"Gabrielle," Zack said. "We're going to call her Gabby but her name is Gabrielle."

"It's beautiful," Rena said, though her smile was a little sad as she thought about the long-dead sister that Gabrielle had been named after. "Congratulations again, big brother."

"As much as I hate to be the party pooper here…" Wayne began.

"No, really?" Krit and Zane said together in mock surprise.

"…but it is so far after visiting hours that it's not even funny," Wayne finished. "Plus, I need to bandage Zack's hand and make sure that Max and Gabby get moved up to their own room. You guys go home and get some sleep and you can come by to visit Max and Gabby in the morning." He looked over at Jondy and nodded in response to the look that she was giving him. "I'll be home as soon as I finish up with Zack and family, babe."

"I guess we'll see you guys in the morning, then," Alec said, getting up from his seat.

"Congratulations again, Zack," Syl said. They all exchanged congratulations again before leaving.

TBC


	48. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

"Get all of us together for a family night," Max muttered as she stood in the living room of her apartment with Zack and most of their family more than a week later, holding baby Gabrielle in her arms. "You, me, our sibs, Alec, Biggs, Sasha, all of the little guys…it's almost just as well that Becky and Jeff weren't able to make it here tonight because I'm pretty sure that we're going to be breaking some kind of maximum occupancy rule in this place as it is."

"Don't worry, the kid can take all of these people in here," Krit said. "She's your daughter. She can handle anything." He leaned down so that he was looking at his niece. "Am I right, Gabby, or am I right? You're a tough cookie, huh? Yes you are."

"The greatest thing about having a photographic memory is that I'll never be able to forget the sound of you talking in a baby talk voice," Max said sweetly.

Wayne grinned mischievously and held up a digital voice recorder. "And the greatest thing about these things is that we'll have it on file so that we can blackmail him later!"

Krit's jaw dropped. "Wayne, for the love of God, please do not tell me that you were actually recording that."

"You can see the recorder for yourself," Wayne said. "What do you think?"

"Krit, if you're absolutely going to have to beat Wayne up, wait until both of you are out of sight and out of hearing range of Gabby," Zack said, giving both of the siblings in question the evil eye. "Wayne, why on Earth would you bring a digital voice recorder with you to this?"

"I thought I just said why," Wayne said innocently.

"Besides…" Zane said wickedly. He took out a recorder from his jeans pocket and held it up. "Who ever said that Wayne was the only one who had one of these things?" He laughed at the furious look on Krit's face. "Come on, baby brother. It's one of the most basic rules in the book: always have backups."

Zack sighed. "My daughter is only nine days old and she's already being subjected to this. Unbelievable."

"Look at it this way," Max said. "She's going to be growing up around this so it's just as well that she's being exposed to it now." She smirked at Krit, Zane, and Wayne. "The sooner she sees and hears this, the sooner that she'll realize how moronic you're being and learn how to either deal with you or ignore you appropriately. Besides, the Three Musketeers here are actually watching their language around the baby. I'm proud of them for that."

"Thanks, Maxie," Wayne said.

"You guys are all neurotic," Rena said.

"You weren't complaining about me being a crazy man when…" Zane started to say. He caught the look that Zack was giving him and he winced. "Yeah, I'll keep that one to myself." His eyes still had a wicked sparkle in them and he walked over to Rena and whispered something in her ear quietly enough so that nobody else would be able to hear them. Rena blushed and Zane grinned. "Later, babe?"

"Definitely later," Rena agreed. She turned around and waved as Biggs, Sasha, Jade, Julia, and Andrea entered the apartment. "Looks like there's the rest of us."

"I guess so," Sasha said. She set down Julia and watched as she and her sisters ran off to a corner of the room to play with Little Max. "You girls behave yourselves, okay? Daddy and I will be keeping our eyes on you even when you think that we're not."

"Hey, Sasha," Alec said. He looked over at her and grinned wickedly. "You're looking pretty big. I'd say you're going to pop at any given second. Either that or you're going to have twins again." His grinned widened at the look of sheer terror on Biggs' face. "Yeah, what was that you were saying when I told you about how nervous I was before Tony was born, Biggs? You got something to say to me now?"

"Nothing that I can say in front of the kids," Biggs said.

"You guys are unbelievable," Sasha said. "Alec, I'm sure as hell not going to be having the baby right here, right now. I've got a month to go. And I am definitely not having twins this time around." She narrowed his eyes. "Unless you would like to have reason to be apologizing to Brin for not being able to have any more children with her, shut it."

Alec smiled innocently. "Shut what?"

"Is being around all of these small children having an impact on your behavior?" Max wondered. "Then again, it is kind of hard to tell with you."

"That hurts," Alec said.

"I aim to please," Max said. She looked down at her daughter and smiled. "What do you think, sweetie? Did Mommy get the best of Uncle Alec or what? Mommy got him good, didn't she?"

"You really do look pretty good for only having given birth not even a week-and-a-half ago," Jace said. She nodded to Zack. "I looked like roadkill for awhile after I had Little Max. Remember when you swung down to Mexico to visit me that first time, Zack? I looked absolutely atrocious."

"Look who's using big words," Jondy said in mock surprise. "She's smart!"

"Sometimes I think that you're really a blond and that your hair is a dye job," Jace said. "You're too dumb to be a brunette sometimes."

"Not one of your finer comebacks, sis," Jondy said. "I think that one ranks down there with that line that you said to me when we were kids back at Manticore and we'd just gotten back to our barracks for the night after we'd had to run the assault course, I think it was the Spring of '08, and I had tripped you—"

"Most of us were there and those of us that weren't don't need to hear about it," Zack interrupted.

"Jace, sweetheart, why do you bait her like that?" Victor wondered.

"You have a younger sister, don't you?" Jace pointed out. Victor started to open his mouth again before he understood the point that Jace had been trying to make and he nodded. Jace smiled and gave him a kiss.

"That's yucky, Mommy and Daddy," Little Max said from where she was playing with the other little girls.

"I'm impressed," Alec said. "She's already disgusted by parental PDAs." He made a silly face at his son, who was being held by Brin, and grinned when Anthony laughed in response. "My turn to hold the baby."

"No, it's my turn," Wayne said.

"Technically, you got to hold her before either Zack or I got to," Max pointed out.

"Please let me hold Gabby?" Alec asked.

"I don't believe it, he asked nicely," Max said, pretending to sound surprised. She handed Alec the baby.

"She really is beautiful," Alec said. "I think she looks just like your mom, Zack."

"Yeah, she really does," Zack said. "Mom said that my grandfather said that when he'd got the picture that she'd sent of Gabby that it could have been my mother as a baby. The only major difference that he could see is that Gabby's hair is darker." He took Gabrielle from Alec. "I wish that she and Dad didn't have to go back to D.C. last week. I miss them."

"Is this Zack getting all sentimental?" Zane joked. He looked down at Gabrielle. "Gabby, what are you doing to your father?"

"Zane, I'm going to be nice because I'm holding Gabby and I don't want to accidentally hurt her," Zack said. "But as soon as I get the opportunity, I will hurt you."

"All this violence around her," Wayne said. "Tsk, tsk…" He caught the look that Zack was giving him and immediately switched the topic. "Wow, will you look at that? It's all clear outside. I don't see a cloud in sight."

"Real smooth," Max said, snickering.

"Speaking of smooth, I heard that there's a major X6 group vacation in the works for the summer," Zane said. "Since Jeff finally got in touch with the rest of his brothers and sisters, they, Becky's crew, and a couple of other friends of theirs are going to head down to Mexico for a couple of weeks in the summer…with no adult supervision." He smiled innocently. "And I hear that the legal drinking age in Mexico is a lot lower than it is here."

Krit pretended to be surprised. "You heard that they have a legal drinking age?" He and the other guys laughed at the look on Zack's face. "Zack, Becky is a big girl. She can handle herself just fine."

"Plus she has a boyfriend who is not only as good of a guy as they come, but who is more than willing to beat the living hell out of anybody who harasses Becky should she not be inclined to beat the crap out of them herself," Biggs added.

Zack shook his head and sighed. "I know, I know. How did you hear about this group trip?"

"Fixit was telling Krit and I about it at work today when she asked for that time off," Zane said. "I think that's a great idea. It would have been cool if we'd gotten the chance to have done that when we were teenagers. I'm glad that those guys have the opportunity and are taking full advantage of it." He smiled and leaned down so that he was looking at Gabrielle again. "And what about you, Ms. Murphy? Are you going to go somewhere for summer or Spring Break when you're old enough and give your daddy a heart attack, huh?"

"Guevara-Murphy," Max corrected automatically. Zane looked at her and she shrugged. "I'm going to keep my name after Zack and I get married."

"I'm not surprised," Brin said. "I had a feeling you would." She turned to look at Alec and Biggs. "Please tell me that neither of you put a bet on whether she would keep her name or not."

"For once, we didn't put a bet on it," Alec said. Brin looked at him skeptically and he shrugged. "Hey, the last bet we made that had to do with Max's personal life was the one about whether the baby would be a boy or a girl and Zack already punched us for that one. I'm not making another bet on Max's life ever again.

"That's my boy," Brin said. She gave Alec a kiss and laughed when she saw the somewhat disgusted look on her son's face. "Oh, so is it illegal for all parents to be affectionate around each other when their children are around? I'll tell you what: how about you say hi to your new cousin?"

"Weird, Mommy," Anthony protested.

"She is not weird, she is just very little," Brin said. "You were like that when you were first born." She gave Anthony a kiss on his forehead and set him down. "Go play with your other cousins." Brin turned to Max and Zack. "Don't worry, he's a year old. He thinks everything is weird." She caught the wicked look in Alec's eyes and held out a finger in warning. "Don't say anything. If this has to do with a bet…"

"I promised and I meant it," Alec assured Brin. They all talked and laughed for the rest of the evening and a decent part of the night until the children eventually started to get tired. Once that started to happen, the others left several at a time until finally Max, Zack, and Gabrielle were left by themselves in the apartment.

"That was some night," Max said. She took the baby from Zack. "Our family is something else."

"They are," Zack agreed. He smiled. "I'm grateful for them, though. Call me sentimental if you want, but I'm so thankful that I have you, Gabby, my parents, Becky, all of our brothers and sisters that are still alive, and the others…I never thought that this would have been possible." He leaned over and kissed Max. "I love you so much, Maxie." He grinned and leaned down and gave his daughter a gentle kiss on her forehead. "And I love you too, Gabrielle."

Max grinned. _He is so right. I have all of the family that I ever dreamed about and family that I never thought that I would have even in my wildest dreams. I'm so lucky. We're all lucky as hell._ "I love you too, Zack. And I love you, baby girl." _Life can't get much better than this._


	49. Epilogue

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Alec, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

About nineteen years later…

"Hey, we're here," Max said as she got out of the car and walked down to the beach. She paused and turned around. "Have we missed anything?"

"Nope," Jondy said. "I mean, the party celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Familiars going down can't officially start without the guests of honor." She gestured to another area of the beach. "Becky's already here."

"Naturally," Max said. She turned back towards the car and narrowed her eyes. "She and Jeff have only one child to deal with while I have one who's pretty much grown up and two who I'm starting to have doubts about if they'll ever mature mentally."

"Come on, Mom!" Derek, one of Max and Zack's twin sons, protested as he got out of the car. "We were behaving ourselves."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What was that I heard while I was driving here about the two of you planning to do to your sister?"

Derek winced. "Um…nothing."

"Nothing? You boys are sixteen years old now. It would be nice for the two of you to start acting like adults. It wouldn't kill either of you," Zack said.

"We do act like adults!" Jordan, the other twin, said. "I didn't say anything when Gabby was running her mouth on us on the way over here."

Gabrielle fought the urge to roll her eyes as she got out and shut the car door behind her. "I wasn't even saying anything bad, you morons. All I was saying was that you would probably spend the entire time here with Tony, Mitch, Brian, and all the other members of the motley crew." _When will they just shut up?_

"They certainly have grown up, haven't they?" Jondy remarked.

"Says the woman who has a pair of eighteen-year-old twin daughters and a seventeen-year-old son who are every bit as bad as their parents still are," Max said sweetly.

"And I'm still annoyed at Jace for winning that bet about me going to be the next to get knocked up after Gabby was born," Jondy joked. "Hey, I try to get them to settle down as much as I can, but it's virtually impossible. At least they never do drugs or drink. They might be just like their parents, but they've got good heads on their shoulders. That reminds me, are you looking forward to climbing Mt. McKinley next week?"

"Oh yeah," Max said. "Derek and Jordan can't stop talking about it." She smiled. "They say that they're going to race each other to the top and they'll be the first one up."

"They're going to have to race Vincent," Jondy said. "And I'm not even mentioning the fact that Gabby, Tracey, and Jackie will be right on their tails."

"And what about you and Wayne?" Max teased.

Jondy snorted. "Hah! You'll be trying to get in front of us all."

"With Zack behind us shaking his head and wondering about our sanity," they said in unison.

"There you are." They turned to see Caroline, Dennis, and Jenny walking up to them. Caroline smiled and went to Zack and gave him a hug. "I was wondering where you were."

"Hi, Mom," Zack said. "We just got here."

"Hi, Grandma," Gabrielle said. "Hi, Grandpa. Hi, Aunt Jenny."

"You find your next victim yet, Aunt Jenny?" Jordan teased.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "My divorce only became final four months ago. I'm not in any rush to get married again."

"Until you meet victim number…how many husbands have you had so far?" Derek asked innocently.

"Very funny," Jenny said. "And I've only been married twice counting Tommy." She saw the confused looks on her nephews' faces and shrugged. "That marriage was annulled so it legally doesn't count."

"Doesn't change the fact that you had been married for a few days," Caroline said.

"Mom! I was nineteen and it was a drunken Vegas mistake! I know that I shouldn't have been drinking in the first place and I've already apologized about a billion times in the past ten years for it, but cut me some slack. I know that I'm sure as hell not the first person who's gotten married in Vegas when they've been wasted and then regretted it the next day and then gotten it annulled and at least I had enough common sense to do it with somebody that I knew! Besides, Tommy was cool about the whole annulment thing." Jenny made a face. "Well, he was when I brought up the subject and we actually filed the paperwork and had it done. I guess that must have been his hangover talking because it was a different story when we got back to school that September. He wouldn't stop yapping about what had happened and how he'd given up the best…well, he wouldn't shut up until I threatened to relieve him of his genitalia."

"So, Mom, what are you and Dad doing for your anniversary?" Zack said.

"I'm not sure exactly," Caroline said. "I just can't believe that it's going to be eighteen years this September."

"We're thinking about taking a trip to someplace that's sunny and warm since we're old," Dennis deadpanned, which got them all laughing.

"Hey, if my one hundred-year-old father is still alive, jogging daily, and still outwits most of his grandchildren whenever they visit him, then we are definitely not old," Caroline said.

"Then how do you explain the gray hairs, Mom?" Jenny quipped.

Caroline mock glared at her youngest child. "It's called aging gracefully, sweetheart. Why don't you go and find somebody to talk to while us adults have a conversation?"

"Come on, Aunt Jenny," Gabrielle said. She grinned. "There's an X8 over there who thinks that you're hot. Do you want me to introduce you to him?"

Jenny shrugged. "What the heck. I wouldn't mind." She followed Gabrielle further down the beach and up to a man about her own age.

"Hey, Gabrielle," the man said. "Still enjoying the college life?"

"As much as you can when you still live with your parents," Gabrielle said, laughing a little. "Steve, I'd like you to meet my aunt Jenny. I was telling you about her over Valentine's Day, remember? Jenny, this is Steve." She watched and smiled as Jenny and Steve began talking and seemed to be enjoying each other's company. She discreetly walked away and stood watching the ocean. _I'm glad that she's doing okay after Uncle Dickhead. That guy was a real jerk. Then again, he was barely eighteen when he and Aunt Jenny got married four years ago. She should have given him time to grow up before they got hitched!_

"Look who's here. How's it hanging, Gabs?"

Gabrielle tried not to groan. "Tony, I hate that nickname. Either call me Gabby or Gabrielle, please. Failure to do so will result in either me kicking your ass or me talking my cousin into kicking your ass."

"You know you like it," Anthony said with a grin. "But hey, I'll be nice and drop it." He took a sip of the drink in his hand.

Gabrielle frowned. "Is that beer?"

"Thank you," Brin interrupted, snatching the cup from her son's hands.

"Mom!" Anthony protested. "That was mine!"

"Nice try, but you're not going to be twenty-one until February," Brin said. "No alcohol until then." She smiled and handed Anthony the cup of soda that she had been holding when she'd taken his beer. "Here, you can have this. I'm sorry for interrupting you, Anthony."

"It's okay, I guess," Anthony said. Brin left and he sighed. "My mom can be so cool most of the time, but…"

"It's your own damn fault for trying to get away with having a beer when your parents are around," Gabrielle pointed out. "Not to mention that Jillian is also floating around somewhere and she's still ticked off at you for catching you finding and reading her friend-locked blog. She would have given you away in a heartbeat."

Anthony snorted. "It was Jillian's own fault for logging in to update that thing and leaving her laptop open with the updated blog out without logging out first. I just happened to be going into her room to ask her for something and it was there and I was curious. Blame the feline DNA. It's not like I went blabbing it around to everybody that I know. I haven't even told Mitch."

"That's probably the only reason that your sister hasn't thrashed you yet," Gabrielle remarked. She looked around. "Why aren't you hanging with your college buddies?"

"Because most of them are in their home states for the summer," Anthony said. "Besides, aren't you one of my college friends?"

"We might go to the same school, but you are only a quasi-cousin to me at best," Gabrielle retorted, but she was smiling slightly. She and Anthony were actually friends, even though they didn't get along a good portion of the time. "Where's Mitch?"

"With his parents and sisters. Poor sap couldn't get away from them yet," Anthony said. "Speaking of his sisters, how come you aren't hanging with them?"

"Because I just got here, dumbass," Gabrielle said. "Give me some—Kylie!" She waved her cousin over, knowing that it would drive Anthony nuts. "There you are. What's going on?"

"Same old, same old," Kylie, Becky and Jeff's sixteen-year-old daughter, replied. "Hey, Tony. Have you driven Gabby completely insane yet?"

"Still working on it," Anthony said. "How about you, Ky—lie?"

Kylie smirked. "Good. You remembered what happened the last time you tried to call me that." Anthony shook his head and walked away and Kylie turned to Gabrielle. "He's a jerk sometimes."

"Sometimes, yeah," Gabrielle agreed. "He's got his good moments, though."

"I guess so. He used to tease me a little when I was younger until I accidentally broke his arm when he was nine and I was four," Kylie recalled. She winced. "I thought that Mom and Dad would kill me for that, but they didn't really punish me. They sent me to my room right after dinner that night and they gave me a long talk about being careful when playing with other kids, even you guys. That was when they started to give me martial arts lessons."

"I guess…heck, I don't know," Gabrielle said. "Never mind." She sighed and smiled. "So, Kylie, have you been thinking about where you want to go for college yet?"

"Are you kidding me?" Kylie said. "Mom and Dad both teach at your school. Where do you think that I'm going to go next year?" She and Gabrielle laughed. "Mom and Dad were talking about it when we had dinner at Uncle Kyle and Aunt Ralph's house last night. They both want me to stay here and I kind of want to go out-of-state. I don't know. I guess either way will be okay. We'll have to see what happens by the time that I have to start filling out the applications. Do you think that Derek and Jordan will be staying in Seattle for school?"

"Are you kidding?" Gabrielle said. "The Wonder Twins want to get as far away from Seattle as Mom and Dad will let them go. They're hoping to go to school in either California or Florida, which made Dad think that all they're going to do when they're there is party at the beach when they're supposed to be studying."

"They're only a month younger than I am and yet…" Kylie shook her head. "I'll never get them."

"Tell me about it," Gabrielle said.

* * *

"Twenty years," Syl said to Krit. "I can't believe that it's been that long."

"Oh yeah," Krit said. "Time flies whether you're having fun or not." He kissed her. "Good thing that we've been having fun, huh?"

"Whoops, looks like we're about to walk right into a PDA," Rena teased as she and Zane walked up to Krit and Syl. "Do you want us to leave or should we stay anyway?"

"Very funny," Syl said. "Where are your obscenely tall children?"

"Very funny," Rena mocked. "The kids are right over there with my mom." She pointed off towards them. "I'm happy that she flew out from Texas for this celebration, but I'm worried about her flying at her age."

"Zack's parents are both older than she is and they flew here all the way from D.C.," Syl said wickedly. "Neither of them look worse for wear, do they?"

"Krit, your wife is still a barrel of laughs," Rena said dryly.

"Thank you," Krit said. He turned around and saw Derek and Jordan nearby. "Hey, you guys!"

"Hey, Uncle Krit," Jordan said. "What's up?"

"Not much," Krit said. "I was just wondering how my favorite son was doing." That got a laugh from all six of them. Jordan resembled his mother and uncle so much that Krit had joked when he'd first seen Jordan that he was really his and Syl's son, despite the fact that Krit and Syl still didn't have children at the time that Jordan and Derek had been born, much less a son the twins' age, and it had become a long-running joke in the family. "Seriously, how are you doing?"

"Good," Jordan said.

"Can't complain," Derek agreed. "We managed to escape from the Wicked Witch of Seattle and Mom and Dad." He made a face. "Dad thinks that we need to stop calling Gabby that, but come on! She was the one who for an entire year didn't call us anything except for 'Dork' and 'Jerk.'"

"She was only twelve at the time," Zane reminded him, though he was amused. "I think what your father is talking about is that calling somebody names isn't a good thing in general, though he understands that brothers and sisters don't always get along every single minute of the day."

"I know," Derek said.

"Why don't you go play with your cousins over there?" Syl suggested, pointing to where her and Krit's own kids were playing nearby. She smiled. "I know that you'd love to spend time with Tony and the other big kids, but you can spend a little bit of time with the younger ones, can't you?" Derek and Jordan laughed and walked over to their younger cousins. Syl nodded. "They're good kids."

"Oh yeah," Zane agreed. "Absolutely. They're a handful sometimes, but they're teenage boys. It goes with the territory. Speaking of territory, you guys should see this absolutely gorgeous vintage 1993 40th anniversary, I'm pretty sure it's 40th, Corvette that I scored a deal on. It's beautiful. I just brought it home this morning and…wow."

"And imagine what his reaction would have been if he'd found a chunk of C4 in the glove compartment," Rena deadpanned. She laughed and kissed Zane. "Don't worry, babe. I don't mind you going ga-ga when you find vintage cars." She whispered something in Zane's ear before turning away from the blushing Zane back to Krit and Syl. "He lets me buy a vintage racing bike every now and then so I let him have the occasional vintage auto. Compromise is a big part of marriage, after all."

"Apparently, so are the things that you were mumbling into Zane's ear," Syl said.

"Hey, my husband is happy," Rena said, grinning.

"Am I ever," Zane agreed.

"What about you, babe?" Krit asked Syl. "Are you as happy as these guys?"

"I don't know…" Syl teased. She leaned up and kissed Krit deeply. "I just might be."

* * *

"Hey, guys," Alec said to Biggs and Sasha as he sat down next to them. "Nice party we've got going, huh?"

"It's not bad," Sasha said. "Only a hundred if not a thousand or two people at the beach on a beautiful July afternoon to celebrate the greatest day in the history of mankind. Yep, it's good." She took a bite of the hamburger that she was holding. "Not bad. Joshua's as much of an artist with a grill as he is with a paintbrush."

"Yeah," Alec agreed. "I just passed Diane and Anna. It's frightening how much Anna looks like her mother. It's like we should just start calling the girl X5-787 and get it over with."

"Does she act like her mother?" Biggs said, amused.

"She does have her mother's attitude," Alec admitted. "Though Diane has mellowed out the slightest bit over the years. I don't know if she sleeps around like Diane used to do." He shrugged. "It's none of my business, at least as long as she doesn't try to hook up with Tony."

Sasha snickered. "Has Diane ever tried to hook up with your son?"

Alec narrowed his eyes at her, but then he laughed. "No, thank goodness. That would be too weird."

"What would be weird, Dad?"

"Nothing, Jillian. Don't try to eavesdrop on our conversation, okay?"

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, Dad, it just happened!" Jillian protested. They heard a dramatic sigh behind them and then the sound of footsteps walking away.

"I should have known that this was going to happen," Alec said. "I remember when Brin was rooming with Maggie before Tony was born when Maggie was only sixteen at the time and Maggie was such a…teenager. I was really praying that the baby would be a boy and not a girl. I got my wish that time, but those thoughts really came back to bite me in the ass, didn't they?"

"What are you whining about now, Alec?" a male voice sneered. Alec, Biggs, and Sasha turned their heads to see Bryan standing above them with Melanie at his side.

"Hey, it's Malibu Barbie and Ken," Alec said cheerfully.

"Charming as ever," Melanie said sarcastically. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave Alec a patronizing smile. "Trouble in paradise, sir?"

"Nothing that I can't handle," Alec said confidently. "Don't worry about it, you guys. If I ever need your help, I'll let you know so that you can have a good laugh over it." He watched as Bryan and Melanie both rolled their eyes and walked away. "I still expect them to stick around for a few nasty comments. I can't believe that they walked away."

"I can't believe that they've been together for the last seventeen, eighteen years," Sasha said.

"We can thank Brandi and Cam for that in a strange, sick way," Biggs said. "Bryan and Melanie were both pretty shaken up after Brandi completely went off the deep end and dragged Cam along with her. You guys both remember that, right? I'm glad that they were able to help each other and then fall in love. Good for both of them." He took a sip of his beer and grinned. "That doesn't mean that they don't look like Ken and Barbie together, though." He, Alec, and Sasha laughed.

* * *

Max laughed as she accepted the hot dog from Joshua. "Thanks, big fella. It looks great."

"Thanks, little fella," Joshua replied.

"I've got grill duty now, you can have fun," Mole said.

"You're acting like it's a chore," Max remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Mole muttered as he turned his attention to the grill.

"What's Mole bitching about now?" Becky asked as she and Jeff walked up to join Max, Zack, and Joshua.

"I don't think Mole's a fan of grilling," Max said.

"Do you need me to take over?" Jeff offered.

"Thanks for the offer, kid, but I've got it covered," Mole said.

Jeff shook his head. "I'm how old now and people still call me 'kid'?"

"Thirty-eight and yes, they still call you 'kid,'" Becky said. "It could be worse. What was the one that you said that Biggs called you before you asked him not to?"

"Little buddy," Jeff recalled. He grinned and slipped an arm around his wife's waist. "Yeah, it could be worse. I remember one time when we were on our off-hours on that mission in Alaska all those years ago, we were in this bar and Alec was trying to pick up this one girl—yeah, Max, it was the bar where and the time when Alec started to fall asleep on his feet when he was trying to pick up that girl but this is a different one—Alec called me kid in front of her and I guess she must have been a Star Wars fan or something because she gave Alec this look and asked him 'Who do you think you are, Han Solo?' to which Alec pointed to me and said 'Yeah, I'm Han Solo and I'd like for you to meet Luke Skywalker.' Alec kept on calling me Luke for the rest of the night. It got a little bit old."

"That's Alec for you, isn't it?" Zack remarked. He sighed and turned and something near the road caught his eye. He zoomed in on it and saw an old man, at least ten or so years older than his father, standing and watching the festivities somewhat wistfully. Zack's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "That guy looks familiar. Does anybody know him?"

"Father!" Joshua said suddenly. He raced over to the old man before he stopped and then reached over and hugged him gently. He turned back to the others and waved them over excitedly. "Everybody, this is Father. He's finally here!"

"Father…Sandeman?" Max guessed.

"Yes," Sandeman said. "Hello, Max. It's an honor to finally meet you." His smile widened at seeing Zack and Becky. "The other perfect ones. I can't begin to tell you how good it is to see you—to see all of you—alive and well. I'm so proud of you." He chuckled. "Thank you for remembering to be gentle, Joshua. Being old does have its disadvantages."

"What are you doing here?" Max asked. "Why haven't you tried to approach us until now?"

"I thought that it would be best to lay low, especially considering who I used to be," Sandeman said. His expression saddened. "And considering who my son used to be."

"Your son?" Jeff repeated.

"My only son," Sandeman confirmed. He sighed. "It's been thirty years since the last time that I saw or spoke to him and twenty years since he died, but I still regret how badly our relationship fell apart." He looked at the gathering, the remorse plain to see on his face.

"Twenty…" Max trailed off as she got a good look at Sandeman's face. Her jaw dropped. _I'd think this guy was just jerking our chain, but I'd never forget those eyes no matter how much time goes by!_ "You're Ames White's father?"

"He was my son," Sandeman said. "Genetically, but if you had asked him before he'd died, he would have said that those genes were the only thing that we shared between us. He changed his last name practically the second that he turned eighteen years old." He smiled ruefully. "It's easy to drift apart from your child when you're an absentee father. I was something of a workaholic, especially after the Conclave ordered my wife killed when Ames was five years old. I did truly love my wife and I really buried myself into my work to help me forget my pain. Ames spent a lot of time in our special school and with his other Familiar friends and their families during his childhood and they filled his head with everything that I was working so hard to prevent. Needless to say, Ames chose to believe them over his own father, but I wasn't around as much as I should have been so I can't blame him too much for that. Then, when he was twelve years old, I uncovered the information that told me that birthmark on his right arm as the mark that would identify The Dark One. I knew that he would be killed by Max, by somebody that I had helped to create, and after that I started to distance myself from Ames a little more consciously. I guess I thought that it would hurt less when he would die if I 'prepared' myself for it then. It didn't. It still hurt more than anything when I'd found out that he'd been shot and killed." He nodded to Max. "I don't hate you for doing what was necessary, Max. I could never hate you."

Max looked down for a moment. "Thank you. And…I'm sorry about your son."

"Thank you," Sandeman said. "I try to remember the sweet little boy that he used to be before his mother died, and that helps. I wish that I could go back and change the past so that he would have remained that wonderful person that he was starting to become, but I can't. Things happen for a reason no matter how hard they seem at the time."

"Would you like to stay with us and get to know more of the others or would it be too awkward for you?" Zack asked.

"I don't think that I'll stay," Sandeman said. "I can't handle gatherings this large anymore like I used to." He reached into a pants pocket and pulled out a pen. "May I have that napkin, Max?" Once Max had handed him the napkin, he wrote something on it and handed it back to her. "There is my address and phone number. I live within the city. I would love a visit."

"I think we will," Max said. "At least some of us will, anyway."

"Thank you, Father," Joshua said. He gave Sandeman another hug. "Missed you."

"I've missed you too, Joshua," Sandeman said. "It was wonderful to see you again after so long."

"I'll bring you a painting," Joshua promised.

"I've heard that you've become quite the artist," Sandeman said, smiling. "I'd love to see your work. I'll be looking forward to it." He nodded to the others. "Good-bye, all of you." He turned around and walked over to a waiting car and got in the passenger side and the car drove off.

"So, we finally get to meet the man behind Manticore for real," Becky said.

"Not a bad guy," Max said. "I feel like I should hate him for helping to create Manticore, but I don't. He was the one who risked his neck to try to literally save the world and he did have to run and hide just like we did when his Familiar friend got wind of what he was doing. Lydecker and company just wanted to play God and treat us like we were expendable toys. Who do you think I should hate?"

"No question there," Zack said. Becky and Jeff walked away to try to find Kylie, leaving Zack and Max by themselves. "I'm glad that we finally got to meet Sandeman face-to-face. It kind of gives me a sense of closure in a way, you know what I mean?"

"I know," Max said.

Zack looked out at all of the people that were gathered at the beach and smiled before he turned back to Max and kissed her deeply. "I love you, Max. I'll always will."

"I love you, too," Max said. "Always." _Nobody can ever make me feel any different. I love you so much, Zack. Forever._

The end!


End file.
